The One Job Left Unfinished
by Rhiannon321
Summary: Leverage fic, Eliot & OC. Eliot is put in as the main player of a con, collecting recon on a girl's family. She hates him. He just there to do his job. What will happen when they start to fall for each other? Will this be the one job Eliot can't finish?
1. The Job Ch 1

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity. **

**Author's Note**: So, how's everyone doing? For those of you who've read my other stories, I'm back! And those of you who've read my last fanfic, Do You Believe In Fate, I owe you huge, enormous amounts of apologies. I know I haven't updated in… six months. But the muse simply hasn't been there for me on that one. And I've had a lot of computer issues, first with losing part of the next chapter that I'm writing for it, then I got a new laptop and I didn't have Word for a while, and well, it was just a mess. But I swear, I've started working on it again, and I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but it will be soon.

Anyways, I've started a new fanfic, for the T.V show Leverage. I'm absolutely in love with this show, and Eliot is my favorite character, so I've decided to write a fanfic for him. : ) This is going to be in third person, which is a new one for me, so try and bear with me on that. It's also probably going to be super long, because I have lots planned out for it. I might break it up into a couple different ones, but I'm not sure yet. In the show, Eliot is the only one without an actual relationship, and he's a bit of a man whore, so I've decided to give him a little romance here. ; ) I've already written the first four chapters, because I've been dreaming about writing this fanfic for like, two years, since I first started watching the show, so I basically already know everything that's gonna happen. Yay! And I've written all 44 pages in like, a week. Go me! So, to start, it's going to be purely based off my imagination, and then after that, I'm gonna base the plot off of my favorite episodes, and all the important ones. So like I said, this is probably gonna be long. :D Anyways, I hope you enjoy this! And sorry for the hella long note. Peace!

P.S Warning for language and LEMONS! Rated M for a reason peeps. :)

**The Job**

"What?" Eliot snapped into his cell. It was four A.M, and he'd just gotten to sleep an hour ago. He wasn't precisely in the mood for a phone call.

"Eliot, it's Nate." Came the dry reply. Eliot sighed, and laid back down on his bed. Damn. Nate only called if it was a job. And taking into account the hour, it was probably an important job. Fuck.

"Yeah Nate, what is it?" he asked resignedly.

"I've got a job. Can you come to the office?" He asked. Shit, just as he'd thought.

"It's important?"

"Yeah."

"Be there in twenty." Eliot sighed. He threw the sheet back, and ran his hands through his hair and decided that was just as good as a brush. After tying the length of it back, he tugged on his favorite pair of jeans and a shirt, put on some scarred work boots, and grabbed his leather jacket on the way out the door.

After slamming his prized midnight black mustang into gear, he hauled ass out of the empty lot just for the hell of it. Eliot was just that kind of guy. He liked good music, good whiskey, a fast car, and warm smile from a pretty girl. He also loved his job more than anything. Working with Nate was probably one of the best decisions he'd ever made in his life. It had started out as just a onetime gig, because normally he worked alone, which allowed for precision and accuracy. But then being the good guy had gotten under his skin, and he'd realized that he was sick of just being hired muscle. He liked someone thinking of him as the knight in shining armor, even that was the exact opposite of what he actually was.

Eliot was a complicated man, with a dark and complicated past. He didn't say much, but his team, who he was quickly discovering was more like a very dysfunctional family, knew he had a good sense of humor, a great smile, and one hell of a way of fighting. But they also knew, even if he didn't, that deep down, he had a good heart, and a strong one as well, even though he guarded it better than Fort Knox. But if they ever told him so, he probably would've accused them of losing their mind.

It had only been a couple months since Eliot had started working with Parker, Hardison, Sophie, and Nate, but he could already tell that it was going to be good. He got to do what he loved, fight, but instead of doing it for the highest bidder, he did it for a cause, for a good reason. And still managed to get paid very well. How much better could life get. The drive to the office was a decent distance, so Eliot let his mind wander a bit, and thought about each member of the team.

Parker. Jesus Christ that chick was insane, but he'd learned so far not to take that as a bad thing. It let her do her job, and gave her an almost childlike quality that made him think of her a bit as a little sister. She was also the best damn thief he'd ever seen in his life. The girl had magic hands. Sophie was like everyone's mom, making sure everyone got along, and making sure Nate got them back in one piece. Hardison was a pain in the ass, and always seemed to be goofing off, but to be honest, he was the main comic relief of the group, and always knew how to lighten the mood. Even if sometimes Eliot wanted to punch in the face. And then there was Nate. Their fearless leader. The white knight turned black king. He was the one that brought them together, and the one that everyone felt a fierce loyalty to, even if they weren't always sure why. And Eliot of course was the guard. He protected everyone, and made sure the bad guys were 'out of the way' when they needed to do their jobs. Eliot pulled into the parking lot of the building that Parker sometimes called the 'Bat Cave', and smiled a bit. They were a family alright. A family that was every psychologist's dream.

Eliot climbed the stairs, and typed in the code on the locked door, and pulled it open. When he got upstairs, everyone was already in the conference room waiting, talking amongst themselves. "Jesus, do none of you sleep?" Eliot demanded.

"Nope." Parker replied cheerfully. Hardison rolled his eyes, and muttered something about crazy women.

"We all live nearby, Eliot. It's more convenient that way." Sophie said sleepily.

"I don't live that far away either, and I hauled ass to get here."

"You were the last to get the call, if that helps." Nate said.

"Why?"

"It's in alphabetical order on my phone by last name." Nate said. Eliot shrugged, accepting the reply.

Nate looked at Hardison, and nodded. "Hardison, run it." He said. Hardison did whatever it was he did on the little touch screen tablet he had, and images were pulled up on the screen. What looked to be hundreds of digital copies of files blinked into view, as well as a dozen mug shots. "We've got a big one this time, my friends. A _really_ big one. Mob." He said. The team all took a deep breath, and felt a mixture of fear and excitement drum threw them.

"Which one?" Eliot asked.

"Irish." Nate replied. Eliot smiled slowly. His favorite kind. "This one's a nasty one. He runs the whole damn show up in New York, and he's as evil as they come. Our client's name is Lisa Porter. Her father, he was…" Nate trailed off for a breath, and took a moment to gather himself. "Her father was killed by the boss. His name is Bryan O'Conner. He likes to do things himself, doesn't mind getting a little dirt on his hands."

"Or a little blood." Eliot added quietly. Nate nodded somberly, then continued.

"He's been running the whole town for years, but it seems as though he prefers his privacy, and there for is not based there." Nate said. He sounded very disdainful, and the team was confused.

"Where's he based then?" Sophie asked.

"Where else do rich, wealthy, private people stay in New York?" Nate asked. The teams sighed.

"The Hamptons." They all replied. Hardison grinned.

"Excellent. They've got some great security up there. A challenge, for once." He said.

"Lots of jewels and cash." Parker said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. There was nothing Parker loved more than jewels and cash.

"Plenty of glamour and drama." Sophie said wistfully. Eliot was probably the only one who could care less about the Hamptons. There wasn't much appeal for a guy like him there. Though he did hear they had amazing stables, and horses were a privet passion of his.

"Focus, guys. Don't forget what's bringing us there." Nate said softly. He put a picture on table that was worn from what was likely being folded in someone's pocket or wallet for a very long time. It was a little girl of about seven, and a man standing arm in arm on what appeared to be Christmas morning, both with whipped cream and foolish grins on their faces. They all sobered at it, and became all the more determined. They all had a soft spot for kids, but Eliot especially. There was something about their innocence and defenselessness that really brought out the protector in Eliot.

"So, why exactly did our client's father get murdered?" Sophie asked, frowning.

"Well, apparently they ran a pub in New York City, and they wanted to run it clean. It was in a very optimal position for the mob to use for various reasons, and when they refused…"

"That was it?" Parker asked, horrified.

"People have killed for less." Eliot said. Parker shook her head, and crossed her arms.

"Humans are terrible." She said. Leave it to Parker to sum it all up in a single sentence.

"Yes. Now, our target, Bryan. He's one sick…"

"Puppy?" Parker supplied helpfully.

"Uh, yes. One sick puppy. He's originally from Galway, lived in Clare for a while, where his first weakness was created." He said.

"Which is?"

"I'll get to that in a moment. Hardison?" Nate asked. Hardison clicked a few things, and pulled up a picture. It was of a man, good looking and well built, and downright evil. His face was the picture of charm, with the raw bone structure of the ancient Celts, deep green eyes, and a shock of black hair. But there was something about those eyes, they were empty, cold, hard, and glittering as emeralds.

"Jesus…" Eliot murmured.

"Yeah. Like I said, sick." Nate said.

"I don't like him." Parker said. They all stared at her, and then moved on. That was just Parker.

"The nice thing about this guy is that he's a crime snob. He only deals in family and family friends, and only deals with guns and money. No drugs, no…"

"Kinky stuff." Hardison finished. Well there was something.

"That's going to make him hard to con though." Eliot said. Everyone turned and face him. "If he only deals with family and family friends, it's going to be hell to infiltrate his ring." He explained. Everyone nodded.

"Well, that's where his weakness comes in." Nate said. He nodded to Hardison, and another family photo was pulled up. It was similar to the one that our client had given to us, but this time it was a mother and daughter, smiling happily into the camera on Christmas, and standing to the other side of the girl was O'Conner, his hand resting possessively on her shoulder, staring into the camera, as if daring someone to try and take her. The girl was cute, with shoulder length strawberry blonde hair, and deep green eyes. The mother's hair was a deep red, with soft brown eyes.

"He's got a kid?" Parker asked. Nate nodded. "Poor girl." She said sympathetically. Parker, well, most of them knew what it was like to have a dead beat as a dad.

"Yeah. Bryan met her mother in County Clare, and one thing led to another. Being as Irish as he is, he promptly married her, and brought her with him to America after the child was born. According to my in tell, he never cared much for the mother, but the girl…" Nate paused again. Kids were a rough spot for Nate. "The girl is his weakness. He keeps her out of his business, because he knows that she would leave him in a heartbeat. She barely stands him as it is. She's grown now, about twenty eight, but she still lives with him. She stays for her mother, whose ill, and refuses to leave her husband. The girl worships her mother, and barely tolerates her father. His one pride and joy. He gives her everything she wants. That is, everything except for one thing. If she were ever to find out about what he really did, she'd turn him over to the cops in a heartbeat. She hates violence, and is involved in several of the charities in New York. Or at least she was before her mother got sick.

"She's an innocent." Nate said. "I think that's why she appeals to him so much. She's the mirror opposite of him. And she's got an attitude the size of Texas from what I hear." Nate said, and we all smiled. "She's his pride and joy. He'll do anything to protect her." He said. He gave us a meaningful look.

"I'm confused, how is she our in?" Sophie asked. Suddenly it clicked in Eliot's mind.

"That's it isn't it? That's the only place he'll go outside the family for. Her protection." He said. Nate nodded, and grinned.

"Precisely! Her personal body guard is the only person he'd ever even consider going outside his personal team for. It seems that no one on his personal staff will deal with her anymore, and she runs through a new guard every other week." Nate said.

"Why?" Parker asked.

"She hates it. She can't stand being confined to the house, which is what her father's orders were if she was going to stay there. He knows that she's his weakness, and he won't stand for someone trying to use her to get to him. Unfortunately for him, she doesn't take orders very well, and she sneaks out every other day." Eliot smiled. Sounded like his kind of girl. Nate looked at him suddenly, and he shifted uncomfortably. Knowing Nate, Eliot wouldn't put it past him to be psychic.

But fortunately he was wrong. "Eliot, you're going to have to be the main player on this one. A least in the beginning. The main problem with this guy is that he's so private, that hardly anyone knows anything about him and his operation. It's taken us two weeks just to get this. That was why I called you all in so early. We're doing a long con on this, so the sooner we get started, the better." Nate said.

"Why am I the main player?" Eliot asked.

"Because you're going to be there on your own for a month." Nate said.

"You wanna run that by me again?" Eliot asked, his brows raised.

"I need you to do recon. And since security is the only thing that O'Conner will go outside the family for, I can't send anyone else but you. You're the best, so it shouldn't be hard for him to hire you." Eliot smiled slightly at the praise, but didn't comment on it.

"How do we know she's run through her last body guard or not?" he asked instead.

"That's another reason I called. The man she just run off went to Lisa Porter's pub and complained about her. I'm gonna warn you Eliot, the things he said she did to him…" Nate shuddered. Hardison turned to me.

"Dude, I had a wire tap in there, and I heard every word. I thought the man was gonna burst into tears. Then I nearly started crying." He said. Eliot cocked a brow.

"How bad could one chick be?" he asked. Hardison paled, and stammered.

"One, one, chick?" He demanded. He grabbed Eliot by the shirt. "She's like a tiger! A vicious, hungry tiger!" he said. Eliot shoved Hardison's hands off, and looked at Nate, who was nodded.

"Hardison's right. She's a tiger alright. And you're going to go in there and poke the tiger with its least favorite stick." He said. Eliot rolled his eyes.

"Great. Why do I always get stuck with the fun jobs?" he asked sarcastically.

"On the up side, from everything I've heard, she's downright stunning." Nate said. Eliot stared at him.

"How is that an upside?" he asked. Nate shrugged.

"So, are we in?" he asked. They all nodded. "Eliot?" He sighed.

"Yeah."

"Okay. So, you're going to get in there, and gather in tell for a month. By the end of the month we should have enough information to start a con. Tomorrow, Eliot will have a meeting with O'Conner." Nate said.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes, the sooner the better. We need to get you in there so that no one else gets the job. Sophie and I will walk you through what you should say. Hardison has already created an identity for you, and I assure you, its fool proof." He said, handing a file over to him. Eliot looked it over, and everything seemed to be fine. The name wasn't hideous either, as Hardison was prone to do. "Okay?"

"Yeah. It seems fine." He said.

"Good. We're flying up for this one, so be ready in an hour. Meet at the privet airstrip." He said. Nate had a privet plane and airstrip for jobs where we had to travel, which he bought with the money from our second job. The money from the first had gone into the office.

Everyone parted ways, and went home to pack. Normally Eliot didn't like to travel with luggage, but since this was a long con, he figured he'd have no choice. So he went into the closet he reserved for 'work clothes', or clothes that he didn't mind having to leave behind, in case they couldn't escape with their bags. He selective some casual clothes for off the job, and some of his best suits for when he'd been on the job. After selecting a few other things, he was ready to go.

He put his mustang in the storage unit he rented, and rented a car to the airport. He was the first to arrive since he had the lightest luggage. He waited inside the private office next to the warehouse and airstrip that served as the airport, and smiled at the pretty receptionist, who got all fluttery. He smiled to himself, and waited patiently for Nate and the team to show up. After wheels went up, everyone settled into their own seats, and was lost in their own thoughts. Nate was busy coming up with possible cons to play after their information was gathered, Hardison was thinking about all the wonderful security systems he'd be hacking into, Parker fantasized of jewels, Sophie off all the shopping, and Eliot of the girl he'd be guarding for the next month.

As they began to descend, they saw out the window the lights of New York. Even though Eliot was more of a countryside person, he couldn't deny that the city lights were stunning from above. They landed in the Hamptons privet airstrip at seven A.M. The privet airport both ways was beyond convenient since there was no security they had to deal with. They headed to the house they were renting, and started getting things set up. Hardison was gleefully plugging things in, booting things up, and god knows what else. Parker was in her room, looking at all her favorite loot, which she apparently traveled with. Nate and Sophie were planning, or something, out on the balcony.

The house was beautiful, very spacious and graceful, and would let in a lot of light when the sun was fully up. As it was, the sky was just beginning to lighten. The sea was a constant music in the background, the air was soft, cool, and salty, and the team thought that it wouldn't be so bad to stay here for a while. Eliot had an ocean view room, and though he'd never really lived on the coast, he already loved it. The sand looked soft as silk, and the waves were deep blue skirt trimmed in silvery white lace. Eliot thought he'd have a fine time here. A really fine time.

Two hours later, everything was settled, and the meeting was set. Apparently one of the men on O'Conner's team, who happened to be retiring, and therefore wouldn't be staying, owed Nate a favor, and recommended Eliot for the job. The interview would be in thirty minutes, and Eliot was itching to get started. He was already in his best black suit, and his hair was tied back. Nate was chattering to him through the com, and Eliot listened carefully to all the tips. This job was important, and he wasn't going to let his impatient distract him from important device.

Eliot drove down a long winding road, green hills on either side, and the faint sound of the sea not far away. As he continued driving, it got steadily louder. He finally pulled up to driveway. "Nate, I've reached the entrance. What'll be waiting for me?" he asked.

"It's not gated, but there will be a guard post. Just give them your false name, and they'll let you in. You're on the visitor list." He said. Eliot drove forward, the sun shining brightly in an impossibly blue sky.

When he pulled up the last hill, his mouth nearly dropped open. It wasn't a house. It was a god damn mansion. An elegantly sprawling estate with a hint of Victorian architecture, lots of windows, rolling gardens, a pathway to the beach, stables to the right, and what Eliot knew was a training court yard to the left. He wondered what they hell the Irish mob was doing with a training court yard.

He pulled up to the guard station. "Name?" asked the man there. He was surly, and clearly bored.

"Eliot Wolf." _Thank you Hardison for the badass name_. The guard flipped through some papers, then waved him through. He pulled the car up front, and then handed the keys over to the valet. He was walked through the doors by yet another employee, this time a butler. Yes, an honest to god butler. He shook his head, and went with the flow. An older man Eliot guessed to be in his fifties, dressed in a black suit met him in front of a grand staircase.

"You must be Mr. Wolf. Mr. O'Conner is expecting you." He said. He motioned him forward to the staircase, and walked with him through the house. Eliot had seen many nice houses, and had lived in just as many, but this was one of the most beautiful houses he'd ever seen. It was luxurious without being ridiculously lavish, beautiful yet understated, and most of all comfortable. Unlike most houses like this, it didn't feel like a museum, or that you'd be beaten for touching anything.

"So, you're the one that's going to be guarding the princess?" the man asked. Eliot glanced at him.

"Excuse me?"

"The princess, the boss's daughter?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess so." He replied, shrugging. The man grinned, and laughed.

"Well, good luck to you then." He said.

"I assume you're talking about the girl's unwillingness to be guarded?" he asked.

"Yep. But I'm afraid you have no idea what you're getting into. Most every man whose tried to guard her has been put into therapy." He said. Eliot was starting to get a tad nervous. What the hell had this women done to these men? "It used to be the core team that guarded her, because we're the only ones she liked a trusted, seeing as how she grew up around us. But we won't guard her anymore on principle." He said.

"Principle?"

"I love that girl as if she was my own daughter. I refuse to do something that makes her so unhappy." He said gruffly, giving Eliot a meaningful look.

"If you hate seeing her so unhappy, why not convince her father to stop giving her guards?" Eliot asked.

"Because, while she may not know the dangers that wait out there because of her father, I do. And so I know why her father wants so badly to protect her." He said his eyes hard. "Just to warn you, that man is… well, he's not the most... legal boss in the world. Obviously you know something of that, or you wouldn't be here. But whatever you've heard about him, it's worse. And if it weren't for the girl, I would've left him years ago. But like I said, she's like my daughter. All the men here feel that way, and the young ones either think of her as a sister, or are in love with her." He looked at Eliot again, and he raised his brow.

"Is that another warning?" he asked.

"You bet your ass it is. Trust me son, falling for Ava would be the biggest mistake of your life. Not only would her father, and the core security team, kill you, but she'd probably kick your ass before we even got to you." He said, grinning. So her name was Ava. They hadn't been able to find that information anywhere. That was how paranoid the man was. His guards, including the one that was in Lisa Porter's pub were under contract not to speak of her, even after they'd been released from the job. It had been hell just trying to find the one old picture.

"I think I can handle myself." Eliot said. The man grinned.

"Sure you can." He said, shaking his head.

"I didn't catch your name." Eliot said, just as they reached a door.

"Just call me Cal." He said.

"Well Cal, thanks for the heads up." Eliot said. He smiled, and nodded, then motioned him to enter the doorway.

Eliot knocked, and when he was told to enter, he opened the door and walked inside. The man sitting behind the desk was everything that Eliot had seen in his picture, and worse. He was tall, and well built as well as charmingly handsome. He looked up, and Eliot fought the urge to just take him out then and there. Someone with that much evil in their eyes shouldn't be allowed to exist. But he forced his muscles to relax, and heard Nate mutter "Relax. The time will come." Eliot sighed. Maybe Nate really was psychic.

"Please, come in." Bryan O'Conner said.

"I'm glad you were able to meet with me today, Mr. O'Conner." Eliot said, just as he had practiced with Nate.

"Please, call me Bryan. After all, you may be guarding the thing that is most precious to me." He said. Eliot nodded. His accent was thick, but clear and concise, like he'd gone to finishing school. Eliot realized O'Conner hadn't just made money; he'd also been born with it. O'Conner pulled out a file, and began reading it. Eliot assumed that this was the resume that Hardison had faxed over. Bryan seemed impressed. Most of what was on there was true, just that the names and locations were changed. "This is quite the resume, Mr. Wolf. Do you mind if I call you Eliot?" he asked.

"No."

"Well, Eliot. Do you mind me asking why you're interested in this position?" he asked.

"I've seen you and your teams work. It's… impressive. I thought about asking to join your crew, but I know you don't go outside close family and friends, which I respect. Then I heard that you were looking for someone to guard your family, and I knew you'd want the best. I can say without arrogance that that's me, Bryan. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to work with a legend without interfering with the family business." He said. Bryan nodded, and smiled slightly.

"Excellent answer. So, what have you heard about my daughter, Ava?" he asked. Eliot didn't say anything, but his expression must have said something for him, because Bryan laughed, and made Eliot's skin crawl. "Yes, well, I assume that Cal has spoken to you?" Eliot nodded. "Then there's no need to warn you to that protecting my daughter is of the upmost importance to me." O'Conner said.

"No, I've been well informed." Eliot said.

"Good. And there's no need to warn you of anything else?" he asked, giving him a meaningful look. Eliot smiled.

"You don't have anything to worry about." He said. O'Conner smiled as well.

"Good, good. Well, I believe that we have an understanding. I would like you to join my team." He said. "I already have the terms and such here, if you'd like to look them over." He said, holding up a file. Eliot had to admit, this guy was a man with a plan.

Eliot took the file, and read things over. Another thing that was surprising was that he took excellent care of his employees. The pay was in the six figures, the benefits were stunning, and there were holiday bonuses involved. Part of the deal was he'd be staying in the guest house on the estate. Nate said the core team had a house of their own about a mile away, but O'Conner wanted the person guarding his daughter close by. "Everything seems good." Eliot said.

"Good. Now, there are some things I need you to understand about my daughter, and your job. Cal filled you in on the emotional part for you, but here's the problem. Ava needs to have someone with her all day. From when she wakes, to when she goes to sleep."

"Why?" Eliot asked after a moment.

"She's incredibly free spirited. She doesn't understand that the world out there is dangerous to her, and so she is constantly trying to leave. The more I tell her no, the more she wants to go. So I'm forced to apply more restrictions to her, and that just makes her even more agitated. So, she must be guarded from eight in the morning, to eleven at night. That's generally when she gets up and goes to sleep. But that's also when the alarms around the house are turned on and off. There's motion sensors around the perimeter of the house so that no one can get in or out without someone knowing. But that means that all the time in between is left for her to try and leave. That's where you come in. Do you understand?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think I understand."

"Excellent. Well, unless you have any objections, I'd like you to start, well, now." He said. Eliot blinked.

"Now?"

"No better time than the present." He said. Eliot nodded.

"That's fine by me. I'll need to have my things brought over." He said. O'Conner nodded.

"Of course. Is there someone that can bring them for you?" he asked.

"I'll have Parker drop them off." Nate said into the com.

"Yeah."

"Good. Would you like to meet her?" he asked. Eliot tensed, and felt a shot of adrenaline pump through his system. This ought to be interesting.

"Yes, sir."

"Follow me." He said.

He stood, and Eliot followed suit. "She's in the training courtyard right now, and there's no getting her to leave early, so I'm afraid we'll have to meet her there." He said.

"The training courtyard?" Eliot asked, surprised.

"Yes. I insisted on her learning how to defend herself, and she's, well, she's taken that suggestion to heart." He said darkly. Eliot's eyes gleamed. Hmm… this girl was turning out to be more and more interesting.

**Ending Note: **So, what do you guys think? Is it good so far? Let me know! Oh, and I'm not sure about the title yet. : / I might change it, but I don't know. Reviews make the world go round!


	2. The Princess Ch 2

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity. **

**Author's Note: **Hey peeps! This is the second chapter of my fanfic. I hope you like it! What do you guys think so far? I'm trying my best to try and capture the characters' personalities, and let me tell you, it's not easy. So shoot me a review, and let me know what you think! :D P.S, this chapter is really exciting. ;)

**The Princess**

They walked out of the front, and walked around to the left. The courtyard was made of stone, a wide, flat, empty expanse perfect for training in hand to hand combat. There was a small table to the right with three sets of weapons. A pair of what looked like daggers, a sword, and a staff. In the center of the area was a woman with her back facing towards them, and a man a little older than Eliot was talking to her. His expression was hard, but she said something and he smiled. The woman was tall, and slim yet still somehow curvy, with long deep red hair braided down her back. She was wearing black sweat pants and a black sports bra, revealing creamy white skin.

Suddenly the two in the area backed away from each other, and the woman pulled out what appeared to be an iPod. She put the buds in her ears and… dear god, she tucked the iPod into the side of the sports bra. Eliot nearly swallowed his tongue. This woman was something. The woman, who Eliot now assumed was Ava, and the man bowed, and stood about five feet apart. Then they both assumed fighters positions. And then the battle began.

Ava was… beyond anything Eliot had ever seen in a female fighter. She was fast, clever, and tricky. She'd circle, feign left, then right, then they'd attack and parry at lightning speeds. Eliot saw martial arts as well as boxing, but she didn't seem to favor grappling as most MMA fighters did. A punch to the body, a blow to the head, feign, a round house kick to the face. Parry, duck, side step. It was like watching the most well choreographed dance in the world. Ava was getting in half a dozen shots, and only got hit once. It was a punch to the face, and she just swiped her hand across her face, and spit out a bit of blood. They were moving so fast, he'd yet to see her face.

Finally, the man managed to get his hands on her, whipped her around, and caught her in a choke hold. Eliot's heart leapt, and watched as she struggled. The man's back was to them, so he still couldn't see her face. She suddenly rammed her elbow into his solar plexus, and then brought it back up into his nose, breaking it instantly. She spun around, and followed it up with three knees to the chest. He fell to his knees, and she brought her leg up, and then brought it down flat on his back, causing him to fall onto his stomach. And he finally saw her face. She was… stunning.

Her skin was silvery, and beaded with sweat. Her generous chest was heaving with the effort to bring air into her lungs. Her cheekbones were high and sharp, her eyes the same deep green as her fathers. Her hair had deepened and richened since the childhood picture, and wisps of it had escaped the braid to hang around her face. Her mouth was full and parted, and her eyes… While they might have been the same color as her fathers, they were totally different. His were dark, and empty. Hers were vivid with life. Her expression was full of determination, and readiness to keep going. That was his first impression of her. A fighter, willing to do whatever it took to get what she wanted.

Then suddenly she grinned, and it felt like Eliot had taken a punch to the gut. She had the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen in his life. Ava bent down, and helped the man to his feet. They grinned at each other, and then she said something to him, and he laughed. Eliot knew in that moment she was going to make this job hell. And he also knew that he wanted her. More than he wanted to take his next breath.

If Ava knew where Eliot's thoughts were, she would have done one of two things. Grinned, and used his desire to make his life hell and make him quit, or simply given him a boot to his ass. But, fortunately for him, she didn't know he existed yet. "Well Tom, I've beaten you once again. What do you have to say for yourself?" she asked. Tom laughed.

"What can I say? I've taught you far too well." He replied. She grinned, and bowed.

"And the student surpasses the master." She said.

"Don't get cocky now, miss thing." He said. She just laughed, and shook her head, making her braid sway.

Cal stepped forward, and Ava smiled warmly. "Cal, how are you?" she asked, wrapping him up in a hug.

"Come on now, you're sweaty." He said gruffly, but his eyes were soft. She just smiled.

"What's up?" she asked. Cal frowned.

"I'm afraid you're father would like a word with you." He said. Ava sighed.

"He usually does. What is it this time?" she asked.

"Ask him yourself." He muttered. Cal looked over, and she followed his gaze to her father. He looked the same as ever, thick black hair, empty green eyes, icy smile. Ava shivered. Her father had always scared her, but that never stopped her from standing up to the bastard. She returned the icy smirk.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" she asked tauntingly. Her father looked at her disapprovingly.

"Ava, behave yourself. There's someone I'd like you to meet." He said. Ava then noticed the man standing next to him, and she had to pause and take a second look. He was a man worth at _least_ a second look.

He was physically stunning. In a sort of rough and ready kind of way. He had lightly tanned skin, gorgeous brown hair that was tied back, and breathtaking blue eyes. They stared right at her, and Ava swore she felt her skin heat beneath his gaze. He was wearing a tasteful black suit, similar to the rest of the core team, and was standing in a relaxed but alert position. He was muscular, and a couple inches taller than she was. He had good bone structure, and her mother always said bone structure was the key to an attractive face. His was definitely attractive, with good cheek bones, and a take-a-punch jaw. Broad shoulders, and great hands. She had a thing about hands on a man. Hands told stories.

After she'd gotten over the physical perfection of the man standing before her, she fixed her smug smile back into place. "Who's the newbie?" I asked. The man's mouth tipped up slightly at the corners, and damned if her heart didn't go pitter-pat.

"This is your new guard." Her father said patiently. For several moments, Ava was completely still, and completely silent. But everyone within a twenty foot radius could feel the powerful storm of anger building up inside her.

"Excuse me?" she said quietly, her brow cocked.

"This is Eliot Wolf. He'll be your new personal body guard from now on." O'Conner repeated. Ava's cheeks flushed red, and her eyes flashed dangerously. Eliot suspected that a lesser man would have crumpled and burned under such fire, but O'Conner stood surely. And then the bomb exploded. Having been around many explosions throughout his career, Eliot could definitively say that this one could've left wreckage for miles.

"HE'S WHAT?" she all but roared. "I thought after I reduced the last body guard to tears, you'd gotten the picture. But clearly your fucking skull is too bloody fucking thick. I. DON'T. WANT. A. FUCKING. GUARD." She said. Eliot couldn't deny, he wouldn't want to be in O'Conner's shoes. The woman was exactly what Hardison said she was. A tiger. A vicious, hungry, tiger.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Ava. But I'm afraid that with all the times that you've been sneaking out, I simply can't risky leaving you alone." He said reasonably.

"Are you putting me under house arrest?" Ava demanded incredulously. Her father nodded. The nerve of that man! She thought to herself. What right did he have to keep her here?

"Da, I understand you want to keep me safe, but this is going too far. I'm twenty eight. I could kick your ass if I wanted to. I can take care of myself!" she said. Eliot noticed that when she was pissed, a good deal of the Irish accent weaved itself into her speech.

"I'm sorry, Ava. But you're simply too impulsive. I can't trust you with your safety." He said.

"I'll make him leave." She said. O'Conner looked at Eliot, and considered.

"I don't think so. I've seen his resume. I think he might just be just the person be able to handle you." He said. Ava growled, and began speaking dangerously in a language that Eliot couldn't understand.

"That's Gaelic." Nate said in surprise. Eliot had to remember that he was where someone could hear him, and didn't respond. Gaelic. He thought that was a dead language. It was like knowing Latin. It was a beautiful language, flowing, and exotic.

O'Conner responded in mild tones, and Ava continued to speak, her words flowing faster now, and her hands making motions that led Eliot to believe whatever she was saying wasn't good for him. Finally O'Conner said something that made Ava stop and think for a moment. Her eyes narrowed, and her gaze snapped over to Eliot. He stood his ground, and met her gaze evenly. She walked forward towards him with long ground eating strides and a sassy twitch of hip. She paused when they were toe to toe, and nose to nose. Eliot could see the tiny flecks of gold in her green eyes, and smell a delicious scent coming off her skin that screamed sex.

Ava stood staring into the man named Eliot's eyes, assessing him in a different way now that she knew what he was here for. Her eyes traveled from his face, down the length of his body, then back up again. She didn't like that she liked what she saw. He was still stunning, even if he came between her and her only goal. Her eyes narrowed, and she smiled slightly. "I'll break him within a week." She said. Eliot was torn between to reactions – thinking that was sexy as hell, or annoying as fuck.

Ava whistled sharply, and waited patiently for something. Suddenly the biggest dog Eliot had ever seen came bounding from around the house. He was sleek, muscled, silver, and looked like a wolf. But that was impossible… Wasn't it? She smiled, and murmured to him in Gaelic. She stroked his bog head, and he made a low rumbling sound. She glared once more at Eliot, and then she promptly turned and walked away, the wolf following close behind.

Eliot took a moment to appreciate the view, and then looked at O'Conner. He nodded, and Eliot followed after, careful to walk on the side the dog wasn't. Ava glared at him, and then ignored him completely. Eliot sighed. "You know, this isn't personal. It's not like I'd like you to stay locked up in this house. This is a nothing but a job for me, and when I do a job, I do the way I'm told to. And if that means making sure you don't go anywhere you're not supposed to, so be it." He said. Ava whipped around and poked a finger into his chest. A chest she grudgingly noticed was very solid.

"Ok look. I'm not taking this personally. You're just another suit. And I really hate you for that, because you're standing in between me and my freedom. Under different circumstances, I'd simply leave, and nothing you or my father could do would stop me. But I have to stay here, so instead of me leaving, it's going to be you. It might be tomorrow, it might be next week, but you're going to leave. And then maybe my father will get it through his thick skull that I won't be contained." She said. Eliot had to hand it to her; she was one hell of a woman.

Eliot smiled. "I've handled much worse than one determined woman. I think I'll stick a little longer than a week." He said. Ava smiled coldly.

"We'll see." She said. She turned around and began walking again. She walked into the house, and the up the stairs, then up another set of stairs into a finished attic. It was a beautiful room, with hard wood floors, a bed up a few steps with a window seat to the left that over looked the hills and the ocean. The colors were light green and silver, and the wood was all a light, natural color. She stepped up the steps, stripping her sports bra off as she went.

"Jesus! You're not modest as all are you?" Eliot demanded, spinning around.

"Modesty is for pussies." She said. He could hear the smugness in her voice, and rolled his eyes.

Ava put on a real bra, stripped off her sweats, and pulled on a pair of jeans and a soft green cotton shirt. Finn, her husky/wolf mix settled down on her bed, and watched her intently. After growling softly in Eliot's direction, he closed his eyes for a nap. She smiled, then focused on getting dressed. She slipped her feet into black flats, and deemed herself presentable to see her mom. Her mom was amazing, but tended to lend to the traditional, and thought girls should be soft. And Ava was anything but soft, she thought sadly. She looked at her face in the mirror, completely free of makeup, her lip split from the fight, and a cut across her cheek bone. Eliot thought it was sexy as hell. Ava however thought it said she was far too… tomboyish. She wished she wore makeup, or heels, or skirts, or something. Anything more feminine than jeans.

She turned around, and saw Eliot's back to her. She rolled her eyes. "You can look now." She said. He turned slowly, and then narrowed his eyes at her. Her heartbeat sped up against her will, as his eyes traveled from her feet to her face, than back again.

"I'd appreciate if you could stay fully clothed when I was here." He said. Ava grinned.

"Can't make any promises." She said. He glared at her, and she just walked past him. She paused and gave Finn the Gaelic word for stay. He grumbled, but stayed put. Ava walked out, and Eliot followed her downstairs again, and Ava was grateful she'd more or less gotten used to someone following her around everywhere; otherwise she probably would've stabbed him or something. As it was, she was only very irked.

Ava paused in front of her mother's closed door. She turned to Eliot. "You're not to speak, unless spoken to, understood?" she asked sharply. "I don't give two shits about your attitude towards me, but you will respect my mother. Got it?" Eliot rolled his eyes.

"I know how to mind my manners." He said. Ava nodded, and took a deep breath, then knocked softly. When her mother gave the go ahead, she walked in quietly. She stepped lightly, and smiled softly.

"Hey mom." She called. An older woman sat in a rocking chair, reading a book, glasses perched on her nose. She had a blanket in her lap, and slippers on her feet. Her once vibrant hair had faded, and there were lines on her face, but her eyes and her smile were just the same as ever.

"Avangeline, darling, how are you?" she asked, reaching out for a hug. Her Irish accent was clear and lilting, almost musical. Ava was sad hers only showed its self when her temper was up. Ava hurried forward, and gently wrapped her arms around the only person she'd ever cared about.

"I'm well." She said. Her mother frowned, and gently ran her fingertips over the cut on her cheek. Ava felt herself blush, and looked away.

"More training?" her mother asked. Ava nodded. Her mother sighed. "Well, at least its one thing that you and you're father agree on." She said. Ava's eyes flashed but said nothing. "Ava, when are you going to forgive your father?" she asked. Ava's jaw clenched, and she turned away. "Ava, please. He's your father, he loves you." She said.

"He loves nothing!" she shouted. Her mother looked down, and Ava instantly felt bad. She crouched in front of her mother. "Mother, when will you accept that there is nothing left for us here? I could take you away. We could go home to Ireland. We could be happy, without him." She said, knowing her voice was small and desperate, but unable to help it.

"Ava. I will never leave your father. He's been good to us." She said, her voice firm, and full of resolve. Ava felt the weight of her mother's decision on her heart. She sighed, and blinked back tears. She wondered how someone so strong, and wonderful, as her mother could be so completely blinded by a love that was so one sided. Her father didn't loved anything but money and tradition.

"Can we talk about something else, now?" Ava asked quietly. Ava's mother sighed, and nodded.

"Alright. Who's this young man?" she asked, smiling warmly at Eliot. He smiled back, and her mother got all fluttery.

"My name's Eliot, ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you." He said, taking her offered hand, and kissing it lightly. Ava rolled her eyes as her mother flushed with pleasure.

"Well, aren't you the charmer? And please, call me Helen." She said. Eliot nodded, still smiling.

"Don't be too nice to him, mom. He's my new prison keeper." She said, glaring at him. He just smirked.

"Oh, don't be silly. If you'd just behave yourself, you wouldn't need a prison keeper, as you say. Besides, I'm sure he doesn't want to be mean." Helen said, smiling at him.

"It doesn't matter. And Jesus mother, I'm twenty eight. Shouldn't you have stopped caring about whether or not I behaved a decade ago?" she said.

"Ava, you'll always be my daughter, my little girl. And as long as I live, I'll always scold you when you misbehave." She said, looking over her glasses at her. Ava rolled her eyes, and sighed.

"I have to go now. I'll come back later this afternoon." Ava said, and kissed her mother's cheek. She stood, and smacked Eliot upside his head as she faced him.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" he demanded.

"What your mouth in front of my mother." Ava said frostily.

"Sorry ma'am. I meant no disrespect." He said, giving her a smile, and a wink.

"Oh, I don't mind. I've heard worse come out of her mouth." She said, smiling. Ava glared at her mother.

"Oh sure, take his side." She said.

"Don't mind her, she's always like this with the new guys." She said. Eliot smiled. He was really beginning to like Ava's mom. Ava made a frustrated sound, and turned around, giving her mother a half hearted wave goodbye.

Eliot followed out just in time to hear Ava mutter to herself. "Figures she would like him." Eliot grinned, and Ava had to blink several times. It was a grin that was crooked, and just this side of wicked.

"Must be my southern charm." He said. She glared. "I bet you hate that." He said.

"Bugger off." She said.

"That must be the famous Irish hospitality." He said.

"Fuck you." She said. She promptly turned around, and started downstairs. Eliot shook his head.

"Things are going well, I see." Nate said into the com. Eliot chuckled.

"Fabulously." He said. Nate laughed.

"She sure is something." He said.

"Yeah. Something. I'll check in tonight when everyone's asleep." He said.

"Sounds good. I'd put your com in your pocket. We'll still be able to hear things on your end that are going on, but you don't need any extra distractions with her around."

"Agreed. Talk to you tonight." He said.

He caught up to Ava, and she was in a game room that made him groan internally. It was state of the art, with a big screen T.V, game consoles, foosball, pool, and a huge movie library. Ava was sitting on the couch, flipping through channels. Eliot sighed, and sat down on a chair to the left of the couch, and waited to see what sort of torture she would put him through. Ava seemed to sense he was waiting for the worst, because she smiled smugly, and put on the Notebook. Eliot groaned. It had to be the sappiest movie on the face of the earth, and every girl he'd ever known sobbed during that movie.

Eliot glared at her, and she just continued to smile. "You knew what you were getting into when you took this job." She said. He clenched his teeth, and looked back at the T.V. After two hours of pure hell, Eliot glanced over at Ava, and saw that she wasn't crying, but she looked incredibly sad. Eliot had an urge to comfort her, and wondered where it came from. He wondered if she was just the kind of woman that made a man want to comfort and protect. He knew she knew how to take care of herself, but that didn't seem to matter. He still wanted to protect her. Especially since her father was such an incredibly dangerous man.

After the Notebook was finished, Ava put in a mindless action movie, which was much more Eliot's taste. Lots of explosions and fight scenes. She didn't seem to mind that it was an action movie, because she paid just as much attention to it as she did to the chick flick. After that was finished, one of the maids came in and said that it was time for dinner. Ava sighed. "Okay." She replied the maid left, and Ava looked at him. "The family and the core team eat together in the dining room. You guys at one end of the table, us at the other. Dinner is when daddy dearest likes to try and pretend we're a family, so he doesn't like it when the team talks to us. He has them sit at the table though because he has a lot of respect for them." She said.

Eliot's expression must have said what he was thinking, because she smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not being nice to you. I'd just hate to see my father kill or fire you before I've had my fun with you." She said.

"And by fun you mean torture." He said. She grinned, and walked out of the room. Eliot followed her, and found himself in a large dining room. The table was huge, and long, with O'Conner at one head, his wife to his left, and Ava went to sit at his right. Cal was at the opposite end, talking quietly to the rest of the guys.

Eliot looked at O'Conner, who nodded politely at him. He nodded back, then made his way over to the opposite end to sit with the rest of the team. Dinner was… interesting to put it lightly. The food was delicious, but conversation was… well, sparse. The core team chatting amongst themselves, but since Eliot was the new guy, there was little he had to contribute to conversation. And at the other end of the table… Ava's mother was trying just so hard to get her husband and daughter to speak. O'Conner was willing, but Ava was just uncooperative. She completely ignored her father unless he spoke directly to her, and then she answered with single syllables. She talked to her mother readily enough, but other than that…

Eliot wondered what it was that made Ava hate her father so much. He understood she hated being locked in the house, but she seemed to be going to the extremes to make her father know she hated his guts. As far as the Nate and the team knew, she didn't know what her father did for a living, so it wasn't that. Eliot wondered if she saw the same thing he did in her father's eyes. That emptiness, the darkness, and pure evil. Eliot also wondered if she knew more about her father's family business than Nate knew. It would certainly explain some things. But then why would she stay here? Eliot looked at Ava talking to her mother, and didn't question her motives any farther.

After dinner, Ava stood up the second her plate was cleared, and stated she was going to bed. She waited for Eliot to stand and follow her, which was an indicator for how tired she was. She simply didn't have the energy to try and give him hell tonight. After that little family dinner, she just wanted to go upstairs, and go to sleep for a few days. Eliot followed her silently, watching her in a way that should have creeped her out, but instead made certain parts of her warm up, and take notice.

Once she was up the stairs, she turned around. "You do realize that this isn't over, right? I will get you to leave." She said. Eliot nodded.

"I realize you're going to try." He said. She sighed, and realized that that was as much as she had energy for.

"Whatever. Night." She said, and walked up the stairs.

"Goodnight." She heard him murmur. His tone of voice nearly made her turn around and look, but she was too exhausted. She continued up the stairs, shut the door in her room, stripped down to her panties, and was asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Finn jumped up onto the bed, and laid his head possessively on her stomach. Her own little guardian angel.

While Eliot made his way to the guest house, he thought about the girl he had been charged with guarding for the next month. He wondered if he was going to be able to do this job the right way. Normally when he thought his emotions would get in the way, he'd call it off immediately. Getting emotional during a job was how people got killed. But this time was different. Ava needed someone to protect her from her father, and from herself. From what O'Conner had told him, she was constantly putting herself in danger just to make her father mad, and to get a taste of the freedom she so desperately craved. Eliot shook his head. She might have been an excellent fighter, but that didn't matter much when you didn't know your enemy existed.

When Eliot opened the door to the guest house, he saw that Parker had dropped off his things. He found that it was actually very nice. The décor was all neutral, and the accommodations were pretty luxurious for a guest house. The bed was a king, with deep blue comforter, and matching drapes. The furnishings were all the same natural colored wood in the main house, and the bathroom had a killer shower. Eliot put the clothes away, put his few personal things where they belonged. He decided a hot shower would be perfect, and stripped down to his skin.

After spending a little time letting his muscles relax under the hot spray, he toweled off, and put on some boxers. He slipped between the sheets of the bed, and sighed. As he closed his eyes, he wasn't sure whether or not he was upset to find that images of Ava floated in his mind as he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Ava stretched luxuriously, feeling refreshed, and ready for the day. Finn licked her face lovingly, and she giggled, and stroked him. She heard someone clear their throat, and Ava screamed. "Jesus, it's me!" she heard. Ava realized it was Eliot.

"Ah! What the hell are you doing in here!" Ava demanded, leaping out of bed so she could better scream at him.

"I was told to watch you from eight A.M to eleven P.M. It's eight thirty." Eliot said, his eyes staring straight into hers.

"And that gives you the right to just come into my room?" she demanded.

"Well I was came in here to get you up. The maid says that breakfast is ready, but she didn't want to wake you because she seems to be under the impression that you're not a morning person. I wonder what gave her that idea!" he said. Ava flushed angrily.

"I am so a morning person! But my mood tends to be ruined by someone barging into my room before I've even gotten dressed!" she said.

Eliot's eyes flashed, and his muscles tensed. He'd been trying not to notice that Ava was only in an electric blue bra and purple panties, but now that she mentioned it… She was damned sexy. "Look here princess, I suggest you stop yelling at me and get dressed." He said. She glared at him, and put her hands on her deliciously curvy hips.

"Or what?" she asked, challengingly. Eliot's eyes narrowed, and he stepped closer to her. She stood her ground, and looked up at him, glaring.

"Or you won't be getting out of bed." He growled dangerously. Ava's gaze faltered, and her mouth parted in surprise. "I'll be waiting outside your door." He said, his voice even huskier than usual. He turned on his heel, and walked out and slammed her door behind him.

Ava's breathing was erratic, and her heart was racing. God… He'd looked like he'd meant it. He'd looked like he was ready to throw her down on the bed and ravish her. A small voice in her head said that being ravished wasn't a bad idea. Ava wanted to bitch slap that voice. He was probably just bluffing to get her to stop yelling at him. Probably… Ava decided to pretend that that never happened, and got dressed. She pulled on jeans with holes in them from hard use, a worn cotton tee shirt, and scarred boots. She tied her hair back in a braid, and was ready to go.

Eliot was waiting outside for her, as promised. She glared at him, and he just rolled his eyes. They both went down to breakfast, Finn at their heels, sitting the same way as yesterday. Ava handed scraps to Finn under the table, and ignored everyone. She didn't feel like conversing until she got some coffee. The cook brought her favorite coffee, and she nearly kissed her. "Thanks, Julie." She said. Julie was young, about a year younger than her, very talented, but very flirty. When she poured Eliot coffee and smiled sunnily, Ava raised a brow at her. Julie flushed, and back off quickly. Eliot glanced at Ava, and she went back to eating. She didn't know why, but she didn't like Julie looking at Eliot like that. Ava chalked it up to some sort of hormonal thing, and not having sex in too long.

Her father spoke towards the end of the meal. "Ava?" he asked. Ava looked up, but didn't answer. "I'm going into the city today, so you'll be on your own for a while." Ava knew when he said on your own, he meant with Eliot and those on the core team that didn't go with him.

"Whatever." Ava said, sighing. That mean security would be tightened around the house, and that meant little chance of escaping today.

"I expect you to behave." He said, giving her a meaningful look. Ava rolled her eyes.

"I don't know how many times I have to say this, but I'm twenty eight, Da." She said. She stood up abruptly, and called softly to Finn. He trotted after her, and Eliot was forced to do the same. Sometimes she waited for him, sometimes not. It was irritating not knowing which she would do.

Ava was quiet for a moment, standing just outside the front door. "I want to do a training session. You can come with if you want." She said.

"Alright. I need to change." He said. She nodded.

"Me too. Met me in the courtyard in ten." She said. Eliot nodded, and started walking to the guest house. This should be interesting.

Eliot dressed in sweats and a tee shirt, and put some sneakers. He wondered if Ava would just let him use the training equipment, or if she'd want him to spar with her. A match with her would be one hell of a work out. She was an amazing fighter. It'd been a while since he'd gotten into a decently matched fight, and he was more than sure Ava was very closely matched to his own skill level. Eliot went into the training courtyard, and saw that Ava wasn't there yet. He decided to start warming up while he waited.

Ava leaned against the side of the house, and watched as Eliot began a standard warm up. He made it look like anything but standard. He began with a few basic stretches, twisting his torso, stretching his arms over his head, and just looking generally delicious. And then he took off his shirt, and Ava nearly melted into a puddle of goo. He had a body worth worshiping that was hidden underneath that suit. His chest was toned, he had killer abs, and shoulders that were drool worthy. She noticed he'd taken his hair out of the band that kept it back, and saw that it did indeed come down to his shoulders. It was thick, and Ava found herself wanted to run her fingers through it. He began a quick warm up with the punching bag, and muscles quick simply rippled through out his entire upper body. Ava shivered. This was going to make it hard for her to focus.

She walked forward, and Eliot glanced over at her, and knew he'd have difficulty focusing as well. She was in the tight black sports bra again, and the sweat pants that rode low on her hips. Her hair was in her usual braid, tied neatly down her back. She was the most probably the most stunning woman he'd ever seen in his life. Ava nodded in greeting, and Eliot returned it. "You up for a match?" she asked. Eliot smiled.

"Yeah. I think I'm up for it." He said. Ava held back a shiver. God but he had a sexy voice. It really was a shame that she had to hate him.

The two of them walked into the center of the courtyard, and assumed fighter's position. "Don't go easy on me." Ava said. "Because I won't give you the same courtesy." Eliot nodded. He'd been wondering about that himself. The problem with sparring with her was that he had absolutely no desire to hurt her. However, Eliot doubted that Ava felt the same way about him. He was after all, as she put it, her prison guard. Eliot shook himself out of his thoughts, and then the match began.

Ava came at him quickly, not even bothering to circle him first. Eliot moved on years of honed instinct, and parried her blows. Ava moved back into fighter's position, and seemed to be planning her next move. Eliot moved then, attacking in a way he knew she'd block. He didn't want to hurt her, so he thought if he could get a hands on feel, he could take her down painlessly by using grappling. That was the one method that Ava didn't seem to use, and Eliot didn't have the same aversions.

Ava blocked him easily, twisted and landed a blow to his kidney. Eliot clenched his teeth, and quickly stepped back. And the dance continued. Parry, blow, attack, block, step, step, circle, attack, block. It went back and forth between the two of them, each feeling the other out, looking for an opening, looking for a weakness. Ava heavily favored martial arts style, with leaping kicks and fast jabs, but she also seemed to like good old boxing as well. Ava saw Eliot liked the MMA style fighting, and was a little nervous about that. MMA used grappling, and that something that Ava wasn't particularly good at.

Ava went for a graceful roundhouse, and Eliot caught her leg. Her gaze snapped to his face, and she used his firm hold on her leg to swing her other leg up and landed a kick to his face. They both went tumbling to the ground, and Eliot heard Ava hiss in pain. He'd felt better himself. Eliot knew that this was the only chance that he had to try and get her pinned. He grabbed her pulled her towards him, trying to get her locked in a triangle hold. She twisted and squirmed, and barely got out of it. She reversed his hold on her wrist, and shifted so that she was straddling his lap, her knees on either side of his hips, and her hands braceleting his, and pinning them down.

Ava's chest was heaving, and strands of her hair floated around her face. She stared at him, and the look in her eyes hit him like a punch to the gut. To compensate for the sudden tightness in his chest, he used a move he'd learned from the first trainer he'd had, and used her hold on him to roll, and reverse their positions. Ava cried out, and found herself pinned beneath two hundred pounds of aggressive male.

He'd pinned her. Ava was stunned, and realized she might have underestimated him a bit. He was incredibly strong, and one of the most amazing fighters she'd ever faced. She found she didn't mind so much losing to him. She was good, and so was he. She thought next they sparred, they'd be more evenly matched, because they'd both know what to expect. But first things first…

Eliot found himself on top of Ava, and his mind wandered into dangerous territory, thinking that it was a hell of a place to be. His hips were cradled by hers, and their bodies were flush together, fitting like two pieces made for each other. Eliot had never really understood the expression until now. Ava's body was soft and curvy, while still being lean and fit. The perfect woman's shape.

Ava was similarly admiring Eliot's build. Hard to her soft, planes and angles to her lines and curves. His hair was falling in his face, and his eyes were the most vivid blue she'd ever seen. She shook herself out of her stupor, and tested his grip on her wrists. "Are you going to let me up?" she asked. Eliot's eyes narrowed, and he smiled slightly.

"I thought about it." He said. Ava's back went up, and she glared at him. As hot as she was, the fighter in her wasn't pleased about being pinned for an extended period of time. The woman in her however was fighting with the emotion, which just made her feel very confused, and irritated. Which meant she'd be taking that out on Eliot, since he was the cause of all that.

"Let. Me. Up." She snarled. He grinned full out then, and stood, pulling her to her feet at the same time, in one fluid movement. "Thanks." She spat. She walked over to the side of the yard, and pulled on a shirt. Eliot did the same, and tied his hair back again. Ava was walking away already, and Eliot shook his head, grinning. She was one hell of a woman. One moment she looked all soft and surprised to be under him, and the next she was snapping at his throat.

**Ending Note: **So I hope you like this chapter! Isn't Eliot yummy without his shirt on? ;) Hmm… Anyways, I'd love it if you'd review! Any reviews are great, even if you just say "Hey. It's good." Lol. Let me know what you think. : )


	3. Warming Up Ch 3

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity. **

**Author's Note: **Here's chapter three! :D Hope you like it, and hope you've been enjoying the story! So, what do you think is gonna happen between Eliot and Ava? Perhaps things will start warming up? Hmm… You'll have to wait and see! XD

**Warming Up**

Eliot jogged around the side of the house catch up with Ava, and saw her walking towards what he thought was probably the kitchen. She swung open the door confidently, and Eliot followed close behind. And nearly started drooling when he saw the kitchen. Cooking, horses, and cars were his main interest outside of his job, but cooking was his favorite, mostly because it was easy to do and practical. The appliances were all new, and every chef's dream. Ava was pulling ingredients out of a pantry, and half the security team was sitting at a table out of the way. Cal was among them, and he grinned at Eliot, but then looked sympathetic as Ava turned and glared at him. "Sit over there, and stay out of my way. You might have won today, but don't think it'll happen again." She said. Eliot rolled his eyes, and sat at the chair Cal pulled out for him.

"What's she talking about?" he whispered after Ava put in her earbuds, and began swaying and humming to whatever tune was playing.

"We sparred today." He said. Cal raised a brow.

"Really? She doesn't usually do that with the newbies. You won?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah. She's not happy about it." He said.

"Well I would imagine not. What happened?" he asked.

"I think we both underestimated each other. But I had the upper hand because I'd seen her fight before, but she had no idea what kind of fighting style I'd use." He said. Cal nodded.

"That makes sense. Well, other than that how are things going?" Eliot stared at him.

"How do you think they're going?" he asked. Cal chuckled quietly.

"Yeah. She's a handful."

"Yeah, a handful of razor blades." Eliot said. Cal laughed heartily, and clapped him on the shoulder.

"I like you." He said, decisively. "You might actually last." He said.

"You ladies having fun over there?" Ava asked. "Or should I give you a moment alone?" Cal snickered.

"I don't swing that way, sweetheart." He told her. She made a humming sound, and went back to her ingredients.

From the looks of it, she was making… "Cookies? Really?" Eliot asked, his brows raised. Ava turned, and glared.

"I happen to have a yen for chocolate chip cookies at the moment. You got a problem with that?" she demanded. Eliot rolled his eyes.

"Does everything have to be a battle with you?" he asked. Ava tuck her tongue out at him, and Eliot blinked. That was the first time he'd ever seen a grown woman stick her tongue out at someone.

"No." she said. "It's just more fun that way." She said, smirking. Eliot shook his head.

"So, what's your plan?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked, frowning.

"What are you going to do to try and drive me away? So far, all you've done is been damned irritating. And tried to beat the shit out of me." He said. Her mouth twisted wryly.

"Gee, thanks. And I haven't decided yet. You seem to be a hard nut to crack, so I'm going to come up with something big." She said. Eliot smiled.

"Well at least you know I won't go down easy." He said. She ignored him, and started humming as she baked.

Eliot listened, and recognized the most of the tunes. Some of them were happy, some were sad. He wondered why she didn't sing. But it was nice to hear a woman humming in the kitchen. It reminded Eliot of home, for it was a homey sort of sound. Eliot gave his head a quick mental shake, and ordered himself out of such thoughts. The woman was attractive, and interesting to fight with, but none of that mattered. Like he'd told her, he was there to do a job, and he was going to do it right. That meant keeping this strictly professional. No strings.

As Ava mixed things, she made an unholy mess. Flour was everywhere, including in her hair and smeared across one cheek, and her clothes. She was following a recipe, but Eliot itched to help. He knew how to make the best damn cookies in the world, as he'd learned to cook the best of almost everything during his travels. Finally, when he couldn't take it any longer, he stood up and walked over to the sing. He washed his hands, and that caught Ava's attention.

"What on earth are you doing?" she asked.

"I can't stand to watch you waste perfectly good cookie dough." He said. She raised a brow.

"You know how to bake?" she scoffed. He stared at her, and her eyes widened slightly. He wondered what caused the reaction, but didn't ask.

"You're not the only one who knows that hands are good for more than just fighting." He said. He hunted up a few other ingredients from her cupboard, and added them to the dough. Ava watched him like a hawk, and occasionally asked what he was doing and why. As he worked, he thought that if this was how the entire month of recon was going to be, it wouldn't be so bad.

Ava watched him carefully, asking and probing. He was good. There was simply no denying it. And Ava was itching to ask where he'd learned to cook like that, but that would've meant she was interested, and she wasn't. And even if she was, which she wasn't, asking him would have let him know. So she just watched. And as he began to stir the dough, Ava wasn't too terribly ashamed to admit she got a little warm in some interesting places. He had amazing hands and simply mouthwatering muscles in his arms. She's seen them at work first hand moments ago. He may have been the sole obstacle between her and freedom, and she might not have liked him, but damn if he wasn't fun to watch. And when he looked at her in that steady, silent way, her heart simply stuttered, which was a ridiculously female thing, and she didn't like it. Though she supposed that meant that she was more feminine than she thought.

Eliot took the first batch of cookies out of the oven, and set them on the counter. Ava picked up a spatula and carefully scooped them up and put them on a plate. After moment, she gave in and nibbled on one. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she moaned loudly. Eliot's gaze snapped over to her, and then he raised a brow. "Oh my god." She said, licking her lips. "These cookies…" Eliot gave her his crooked grin.

"Good?" he asked.

"Where the hell did you learn to cook like that?" she asked. She knew she wasn't going to ask that, but fuck that. Those cookies were fucking amazing!

"Here and there." He said, shrugging. But he was smiling. When all of the cookies were finished, there were three plates full, and Ava looked at them like they were gold. When Eliot reached for one, she smacked his hand away.

"Uh, uh. Not for you." She said. She picked up all three plates and expertly carried them to the table were the guys were sitting. They eyed the cookies suspiciously, but tried them anyway. And were immediately fighting over them. Ava smiled. "Chocolate chip is their favorite, but it looks as though yours beat mine." She said.

"So, I cooked them, but I don't get to eat one?" he asked. She looked over, and seemed to think about it. Then Cal spoke up.

"Come on, Ava. Cut the kid a break. These are amazing." He said. Ava shrugged, and handed one to him. Their fingers brushed, and Ava ruthlessly repressed a shiver. Eliot took a bit, and Ava had a sudden thought that she wouldn't mind him sinking his teeth into her, instead of that cookie.

Ava blushed furiously, and turned away sharply. Where the hell had that come from? While she enjoyed sex now and again, Ava had never been overly aggressive about it. But that was almost a sexual fantasy. About her body guard. And that phrase instantly sent her mind into a tizzy of mental images, and Ava immediately decided she had far too a vivid imagination. This had to stop, and soon, otherwise she was going to end up jumping the man's bones. And now that she knew what it was like to have his body covering hers, she was right on the brink of losing control. And that would be bad. Right? Her body didn't seem to agree with her. Well, her body was going to have to settle down and shut up. She had more important things to worry about than sudden hormone changes.

After spending some time with the guys, eating cookies and talking, and trying very hard to ignore the intent look of attention Eliot had fixed on her, Ava decided it was time to spend some time with her best friend. "I'm going to go for a walk. I assume you have to go with me?" she said. Eliot nodded. "Well, come on then." She said. He stood, and followed her out. She whistled sharply, and Finn came bounding down the stairs. He tongue lolled out of his mouth in a wolfy grin, and she smiled back. "Hello gorgeous. How's my favorite boy doing today?" she asked. He foofed softly, and she scratched him under his chin.

"What kind of dog is that?" Eliot asked, eying Finn suspiciously. Ava rolled her eyes.

"This is Finn, and he's a husky/wolf mix." She said.

"You mean he's actually part wolf?" he asked, seeming a little nervous.

"Yes, half wolf actually." She said. Eliot muttered something that Ava didn't hear, and she shrugged, and walked outside.

Eliot walked on one side and Finn on the other. Ava led the way over the green hills, and down the sloping lawn to the beach. She took off her shoes, and held them in her hand as she walked along the shore. Finn sniffed at random things, and would occasionally run ahead of them. Ava walked along the wet sand, and smiled. She glanced at Eliot out of the corner of her eye, and saw him looking out over the water. "Never lived close to the beach?" she asked. He looked back at her, and shook his head.

"Not that I'm interested or anything, but why'd you take this job?" she asked. She wanted to at least know if there was a good reason for him confining her. He was silent for a moment, staring at her in the way that he always seemed to, and she shifted uncomfortably. It was like he could see straight through her.

Finally he shrugged. "I needed the work." He said. Ava decided not to press. Finn came trotting back to them, rubbed his head under her hand, and seemed to glare at Eliot. He glared right back, and Ava had to suppress a giggle. The three of them walked along the beach for a long time, and Ava found it wasn't too bad. Eliot didn't try to make pointless small talk, and neither did she, but the silence wasn't awkward. It was actually rather pleasant. It was like the both of them were just at ease being themselves with the other person, after having to be someone else for everyone else. After a while, Eliot started glancing at his watch, and Ava got the hint. Time to go. So they turned around, and headed back to the house.

Ava saw that her father's car was just pulling in. "You'd better go change. I'll meet you at the stairs after I do the same." Ava said, watching as her father stepped out of the car, and walked into the house. Eliot nodded, and made his way towards the guest house. He glanced back, and saw Ava still standing there, her eyes closed, and her mouth moving. Eliot realized she was counting. He shook his head sadly when he realized why. She was making sure she would wait longer enough so as to avoid running into her father.

Eliot got dressed quickly, and then headed back to the house. He knew things were bad by the time he walked halfway up the stairs. He heard vicious shouting, all coming from Ava, and then an outburst of anger from O'Conner. Eliot figured Ava was the one person who could make O'Conner lose his cool. Suddenly Ava burst from the office, and took off running upstairs. Eliot ran after her, and found her door slammed and locked. Eliot sighed, and pulled out the walkie-talkie that Cal had given him in case he needed to contact him. He pushed talk. "Cal?"

"Yeah?"

"What do I do if the princess is locked in her tower?" he asked, using the code terms that the team had given him.

"You see the chair next to the door?" Eliot glanced to his right.

"Yeah."

"Sit in it. And wait." He said. Eliot clenched his jaw. That woman was going to be the death of him. Eliot did as Cal suggested, and sat in the chair. It was really comfortable, so Eliot figured that a lot of men had sat in it waiting for the princess, and hadn't wanted an uncomfortable chair.

Ava had locked herself in her room with good cause, however. Her father had told her that her mother was quickly fading, and there wasn't much more that the doctors could do for her. So Ava had blamed him, as was her usual coping mechanism. After a vicious argument that had ended in both of them losing control, Ava fled the room so that her father wouldn't be able to see her tears. She then catapulted herself into her room, locked the door, and flung herself on the bed. Finn had been there, waiting for her, and was curled up next to her, whimpering softly as she sobbed quietly into her pillow.

After several hours, it was already dark, and Ava hadn't come out of her room. Eliot figured she wouldn't anytime soon, and got comfortable. That was the nice thing about having a job like his. You had perfected the art of patience. Meanwhile, Ava concocted a plan. She wanted to piss her father off, because that was the best form of stress relief there was, and there was no better way to do that than sneaking out for a night of fun. But that meant sneaking past Eliot. And that might prove to be harder than she had originally thought.

Ava got ready for a night out while thinking of her plan. She got dressed in tight, dark wash skinny jeans, high heeled leather boots, a sleeveless green shirt, and a black leather jacket. After apply the small amount of makeup she owned, her eyes were smoked, and her lips were glossed. This was the only time she knew how to dress like a girl. She put on a choker necklace, bangle bracelets, and dangling earrings. Ava glanced out her window to see how dark it was, and then it clicked. Of course! How many times had she done this as a kid? It was so simple.

Just as Ava was putting her plan into action, the cook came upstairs with a tray of food. "Miss Ava often misses dinner. I usually bring her up something so she doesn't starve." Explained the cheerful young woman. She smiled, and fluttered her eyes at him, and Eliot sighed. He knew that he was losing his mind, because he wasn't even remotely interested in the attractive, flirty woman standing in front of him. He sighed, and knocked on the door.

"Ava? Food." He called. No answer. He sighed. "Ava?" nothing. Eliot didn't like it, so he busted in the door with his shoulder. He glanced around the room, and knew immediately that Ava wasn't in it. The door leading to the balcony was open. Eliot ran out of it, and looked around. What he saw he couldn't believe. Ava was walking carefully but quickly and gracefully across the roof to the second story balcony. "Ava!" he shouted. She looked back at him, and grinned.

"Catch me if you can." She said. Eliot growled, and jumped the rail onto the roof, and began following her. She quickened her pace, and made it to the rail of the other side of the second story balcony just as Eliot was climbing over into it.

She climbed nimbly over the side, and Eliot saw immediately what she planned to do. "Ava, don't do it." He said. She looked at him, and grinned. She was facing him, her hands gripping the wrong side of the rail, her body being supported entire on the thin railing of the balcony. Eliot's heart raced. What was this crazy woman doing?

"I have to." She said. Then she simply let go, and fell backwards. Eliot ran forward, just in time to see Ava do a single flip in air, then land like a fucking cat on her feet. She landed in a crouch on the balls of her feet, and her hand touched the ground to catch her balance.

She head whipped around, sending her hair flying. She was wearing it down now, and Eliot realized just how long it was. It was down to her waist, and she'd done something to it that made it look straight as rain. She was wearing jeans, heels, and a leather jacket that made her look like something out of a magazine. She grinned wickedly at him, and stood in one fluid movement. She flipped him off, and then took off running around the house. "Shit." Eliot ran back into the house, down the stairs, and out the front door.

There was a man on a motorcycle, a crotch rocket, in a leather jacket and jeans waiting. Ava ran up to him, and swung herself up onto the bike. She gripped his hips, and turned as Eliot came running out. She smiled sultrily, and gave him a little wave, before she told the man on the bike to go. Gravel flew as the bike shot down the drive way, and Eliot heard Ava's shout of delight as they went.

Fuck. What was he supposed to tell O'Conner? That he'd let his daughter escape on the first day on the job? Eliot wasn't about to go there. He pulled the com out of her pocket, and stuck it back in his ear. "Nate?"

"Yes?"

"Ava's escaped."

"How?"

"She jumped off the roof." He said. There was a long paused, and he heard Parker pipe up.

"I like this girl." Eliot rolled his eyes. Parker was twenty pounds of crazy in a five pound bag.

"Can we focus on how we're going to find her so I won't get killed by the leader of the Irish mob?" Eliot asked through clenched teeth.

"Yeah. Hardison, is there anything you can do?"

"Who are you kidding, I can do anything." He said. "Has she got a cell phone?"

"I have no idea."

"Ok, I'll look it up myself." There was a pause, and then Hardison spoke. "Aha! There it is. Oh, good choice. The girl's got taste. It's a smart phone, and all smart phones have GPS. I'm tracking her now… Looks like she's headed into the city. From the looks of her credit card, there's a club that she goes to often. It called the Phoenix. She's probably heading there." Hardison said.

"Got it." Eliot jogged over to the car he was using for this job, and through it into gear.

He drove at least ten miles over the speed limit the entire way to the city, but knew that he wasn't going to catch up to the motorcycle. Especially after an hour and a half drive when he hit the city, and was faced with the most horrific traffic he'd ever seen. He was careful to do the speed limit then, knowing getting pulled over would be a bad idea. Hardison had sent Eliot the address of the club, and it was programmed into the GPS in the car, so he didn't have to worry about getting lost in the hell that was New York. Eliot didn't know how people did it. Especially people who did it on a daily basis. Some people were just insane he supposed.

Once Eliot found the club, he saw the bike parked across the street. There was a line the size of a train, but he knew that that wouldn't have stopped Ava. Women like Ava got into clubs with the bat of an eye. Or perhaps in her case, the twist of the bouncer's arm. Eliot planned on using a similar technique. He walked straight up to the bouncer, and was about to break his nose, when Nate spoke up. "There's no need for violence on this one, Eliot. Think about what you're wearing. You'll blend right in. Just tell him you're new, and that you don't have your I.D, so you need to go inside and get it." Nate said. Eliot sighed. Sometimes he took all the fun out of things. But he knew he was right.

Eliot walked up to the very large bouncer. "Hey man. I'm new; I just started here last week. I left my I.D in the locker room, and I need to have it for my shift tomorrow. I swear I'll be in and out." He said. The bouncer looked Eliot over, and decided that he had a bouncer's build, because he shrugged and let him through. He must have been new too. An experienced bouncer would never have let him through.

Eliot was immediately hit with the force of the music. It was blearing at full blast, and the beat vibrated through every cell of his body. The club was packed, but not so much that you couldn't move easily, more or less. He knew he'd be screwed trying to find her in this crowd. There were so many people, and the lighting was low, so you couldn't see faces clearly. Bodies were moving in time with the music, and to Eliot it looked like half the couples were having sex with their clothes on, and wondered how you called it dancing.

Eliot was about to ask Hardison to try and give him a location on Ava when he saw he didn't have to. She was in the center of the club, in a circle that was clear of people that made a strange kind of stage. The song that was playing ended, and everyone turned and faced Ava. A new song began to play. It was country, but the club didn't seem to care. It was the fast paced, rock and roll kind of country music that Eliot himself listened to when he had the time. Ava's head was bowed, and when the singing should have began, her head snapped up, and she began to sing.

Eliot's jaw would have dropped if he had any control over his body. He was paralyzed. Her voice was stunning, hitting each note perfectly. It was in your face kind of song, and her body language and facial expression fitted it perfectly. "I'm flat on the floor with my head down low, where the sky can't rain on me anymore. Don't knock on my door 'cause I won't come, I'm hidin' from the storm 'til the damage is done!" her foot stomped with the beat, and she sang to the crowd, and they cheered. She got in their face, and sang with enough attitude for five women. Eliot stood there watching her, stunned beyond belief.

When her song was finished, the entire crowd was clapping their hands, and screaming her name. She was a stunning performer, and put enough emotion and oomph in her music to make anyone want to dance. Except Eliot. Dancing was the one thing that he did not do. During the pause, Eliot moved closer to the cleared 'stage' hoping he could get Ava to leave before the next song started. He was too late however. The next song began just as he reached the clearing. Ava saw him, and smiled sultrily. The song that started was also fast paced, and sexy.

"Don't be scared." She said as the song started. "I've done this before. Show me your teeth." The way she said it said that it was a part of the song, but she was looking directly at Eliot as she said it, and her body began moving with the music. If you combined the song's lyrics with Ava's dancing, Eliot knew everyman in the room would be hard in ten seconds flat. But she wasn't looking at anyone but him. She moved forward with a sassy kind of march that brought her right in front of him. "Don't want no money. That shit's ugly. Just want your sex." Eliot's eyes widened. "Take a bite of my bad girl…" she swiveled her hips, and Eliot bit back a groan. "Bad girl, meat! Take a bite of me." She sang, and placed her hand on his chest like she was daring him. "Show me your teeth." She sang, raising a brow. "Let me see you mean." She said, curling her lip back in challenge. She gripped his jacket, and pulled him flush against her body. "Show me your teeth." She whispered. Eliot thought if she kept this up, he'd throw her over his shoulder and take her somewhere more privet to live out all the images his mind was conjuring.

Luckily for him, she back away, and started singing again. But the lyrics were so provocative, and she hardly ever took her eyes off him. And that wasn't even including how she was dancing, which was enough to make any man want to throw her down and have their way with her. Eliot knew that she was challenging him, but he wasn't sure how. Was she just trying to get him to go insane with lust and quit the job, or was she daring him to take action because she wanted him to? It was impossible to tell with that woman. Most of the time she was aggressive, and no nonsense. A real fighter. But then the next she'd go and do something sweet and normal, like baking cookies for her security team, and it completely threw Eliot of balance. He could handle the fighter in her; after all, like recognizes like. It was fun to spar with her, both of them taking their jabs, getting a feel for each other. But he had no idea what to do with the soft side of her. And then seeing this side of her, the side that could sing like no one else, and dance in a way that would put fire in any man's blood, and Eliot was hopeless as to what he was going to do.

Eliot knew he had to do something to get himself under control, and fast. Otherwise, he was screwed. But first, he had to get the damned woman back to her house. She'd just finished another song, and apparently was deciding to take a break, because she waved to the crowd, and then disappeared into the throngs of people. Shit. Now how was he supposed to find her?

Ava sincerely hoped that he wouldn't. She wanted to find him first. Ava had discovered something about herself in the moment on the balcony with him. She may have been nervous around him, but that was only when she was doing something normal. When she was in fight mode, she could handle him easily. After all, he was a fighter too, and she knew how to handle herself. And she could also handle him in this setting, where no one knew who she was really, and when she had her power clothes on. She could challenge him as a woman to man, not as a fighter to a fighter. She was comfortable here, because she knew who she was here, and what part she was playing. She felt the same way in fight mode. It was when she was doing something completely normal that she was lost in how to handle him. Like the cookie incident, or when he went with her to visit her mother. She didn't know what part she was supposed to fill, or what to do or say. It was infuriating, because it wasn't a feeling she was used to. When those moments occurred, she felt silly, and ended up blushing a lot, which was aggravating because she never blushed. Ever.

Ava shook herself out of those thoughts, resolving to find a way to handle him later. First, she would have as much fun with him here as she possibly could. Here, she knew just how to handle him. And she wanted to positively torture him. He deserved it, after all those long stares that she had no idea how to decipher. Not to mention that moment when he'd had her pinned. Here, she'd have him pinned in no time flat.

Ava carefully weaved her way through the crowd, careful to stay out of Eliot's line of sight. She came up behind him, and whispered in his ear. "Catch me if you can." She then slinked out of sight again as he whipped around to see her. She saw his face harden in frustration as he tried to spot her. She laughed quietly. She slipped behind him again, and trailed her fingertips across the back of his neck. He turned, but she was already gone. He made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a snarl. She started to come up behind him again, he caught a hint of her scent, and whipped around and grabbed hold of both her arms.

Ava stilled immediately, and stared at him, waiting for his next move. "Do you enjoy driving me crazy?" he demanded roughly. She smiled.

"Yes." She answered simply. Eliot's eyes narrowed.

"We're leaving." He said. Ava didn't move.

"One song." She said. Eliot paused to consider. She probably wasn't lying to escape, because she would've just told him to back off and let her be, and fought him if necessary. Eliot nodded.

"Fine. I'll wait outside." He said. She grabbed his arm.

"Wait." She looked back at the DJ, and he nodded. A slow, sexy song came on, and Ava turned back to Eliot. "Aren't you going to dance with me?" she asked.

"I don't dance." He said.

"I think you can." She said. "It's just like a fight. One person makes a move, the other counters." She said.

"Why?" he asked. She smiled.

"Curiosity." She said.

Eliot didn't make a move towards her or away. So she made the first move. She moved forward, until her body was a breath away from his. Then she started to dance. Her hips swayed from side to side, she raised her arms above her head, and moved her body in a way that made Eliot groan. She looked him right in the eyes, grabbed his hands, and put them on her waist. "Come on, Eliot. Dance with me." She whispered in his ear. He shuddered, and before he knew what was happening, he was moving with her. She was right. It was just like a fight. Move, counter move, step, twist, turn, move, move.

Ava was lost in the music, and movements between the two of them. She'd meant to torture him, but found that somewhere along the line, she'd just wanted to dance, and then she'd just wanted to dance with him. Somehow, he'd made her forget that she was supposed to hate him. In just two days, he'd gotten to her, without even trying. He'd gotten to her, just by being him. And she didn't know if she could bring herself to hate him anymore. It was like he said, he was doing a job. And his actions made it clear that he was telling the truth when he said that he didn't want her to be cooped up inside the house. Ava wondered what would happen next.

Eliot looked down, and saw Ava was smiling, her eyes were closed, and Eliot was quickly mesmerized. She was stunning. She spun around to face Eliot, and she froze. They both became still in a sea of movement, and couldn't take their eyes off each other. They're bodies were a paper's breadth apart. Eliot moved without seeming to notice, his head bowing down towards her. Ava seemed to rise up on her toes, and their mouths were a whisper apart, when someone bumped into Ava, knocking her into Eliot's chest.

His arms wrapped around her instinctively, and he thought he saw her blush. "Sorry, didn't see you there." Said a man. Eliot looked up, and Ava moved away from him slightly.

"It's okay." She muttered. The man started to turn away, but then looked at her again.

"Hey, you look familiar. Do I know you?" he asked. Ava frowned, and Eliot tensed.

"No, I don't think so." She said.

"Come on, Ava. Let's get out of here." Eliot said, gripping her arm.

"Wait, I know where I know you from. You're Bryan O'Conner's little girl, aren't you?" the man said, smiling icily. Ava's blood ran cold. She knew her father was involved with bad people, but thankfully she didn't know for what, and she'd never met any of his associates. Until now.

"How do you know my father?" Ava asked.

"Ava… come on." Eliot said, his grip tightening.

"Eliot, let go." She said. He didn't.

"Yeah, let go. Let the girl and I talk about just how I know her daddy." The man said, moving his jacket just slightly to reveal a gun stuck in his pants.

Ava's heart simply stopped, and she shook slightly. She'd never liked guns. Guns were dangerous, unpredictable things you could never fully control. Eliot's muscles tensed, and he went into battle mode. He would protect Ava, no matter what. He moved her behind him, grabbed the butt of the gun, cocked it, and watched with grim satisfaction as the man paled. "I'm going to take this gun. Ava and I are going to leave. And you're not going to follow. I will never see you again. Is that understood?" he asked; his voice quiet and dangerous. The man nodded. Eliot pulled the gun away. "Ava. Move." She didn't need telling twice.

They both moved backward, keeping their eyes on the man, until they were lost in the crowd. "Is there a back door?" Eliot asked. Ava nodded, and grabbed his hand. They both felt a jolt of electricity, and paused and looked at each other. Ava looked away, and pulled Eliot through the crowd, towards the back of the club. They slipped out a door that led to the side alley, and Ava felt her control slipping. Her heart was beating erratically, her breathing was ragged, and her muscles felt shaky.

Eliot took apart the gun, and threw the pieces into the dumpster. He looked over, and saw Ava bent over, her hands on her knees, her whole body shaking. He rushed forward, and wrapped his arms around her, steadying her. "Easy. Slow breaths." He said. She took several deep, slow breaths, and calmed down a little. Eliot's embrace was strong, and warm, and made her feel safe. But she shouldn't have needed him. She was a fighter; she should be able to protect herself. But she was afraid. So afraid. But her resolve came swiftly, as she remembered how quickly Eliot had acted to protect her. That wouldn't happen again. She'd make sure she was always protecting herself.

Ava stood, and turned to face Eliot. His eyes were soft, and that just made it worse. She could hardly bare his understanding of her fear. It made her feel all the more the coward. "Sorry." She murmured. "That won't happen again." She said. Eliot frowned, then shook his head.

"You don't have to be brave all the time, you know. It's okay to be afraid sometimes." He should know. He'd been terrified something would happen to Ava.

"No it's not. I froze. That shouldn't happen." She said, clearly distressed. "And how did that man know my father? Why would my father know someone like that?" she asked quietly, her eyes filled with questions Eliot didn't know how to answer.

"I don't know. But we've gotta get out of here. Come on." He wrapped an arm around her, keeping her close. She followed without argument, and Eliot knew she was seriously upset.

They walked around the side of the club, and Eliot got her into the car, and drove off. Eliot knew it'd take about two hours to get back to the Hamptons, and by then it would be about two in the morning. Which meant that Eliot would be setting off the alarm. Which would be bad. "Ava?" he asked. She looked over at him blankly. "You should try to get some sleep. It's going to be a long drive." He said. Ava nodded, and leaned the seat back. She was petite enough that she could lay curled up on the seat fairly easily, and was asleep only minutes after. Eliot knew that the stress had gotten to her, and felt bad.

He pulled out the com, and put it in. "Hardison?" There was a paused.

"Say what? Oh, Eliot. You find her?" he asked. Eliot could tell he'd been asleep, and didn't blame him.

"Yeah, we're good. Listen, there's an alarm system set up around the perimeter of the property that's set off anytime someone get close. I need you to turn it off when I get there so that O'Conner doesn't know that Ava's been out." He said.

"And the fact that you and Ava have been gone for the past I don't know, five hours won't clue him into that?" he asked.

"Shit." Eliot had forgotten about that. "Damn it, never mind. I'll be dealing with him one way or another, I guess."

"You know what, I'll turn it off anyway. It'll at least buy you some time with him." He said.

"Thanks Hardison." Eliot pulled the com out, and stuck it back in his pocket.

He looked over at Ava, and saw her face completely relaxed in sleep. She was beautiful. Eliot decided then and there that when they got back to the house, he'd have to ask her about what she wanted from him. He was getting so many different messages from her, he had no idea what to believe. He needed to know, once and for all if she wanted him as much as he wanted her. It wouldn't affect him completing the job, but it would affect how he did it. If she didn't want him, then that was fine, and Eliot would get on with the job. If she did… well, he'd have to make some adjustments. He'd have to keep her completely out of the job. If he was in a relationship (of sorts) with her, then he would absolutely refuse to use her as part of the con.

**Ending Note: **Hey everyone! I hope you liked this chapter! I think it's a good one. XD Oh, by the way, the songs that Ava sings are Flat On the Floor by Carrie Underwood, and Teeth by Lady GaGa. I know, a weird combination, but Ava's like me when it comes to music. In other words, she eccentric. Hehehe. Internet cookies and hugs to everyone who gives me reviews! And favs! And alerts! They make me happy. :D


	4. The Beginning Ch 4

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity. **

**Author's Note: **And on to chapter four! XD I can't say this is my favorite chapter, because chapter two has that hands down, but this is a close second! A lot happens here, so hurry up and read! Lol.

**The Beginning**

After driving for about an hour and a half, they finally reached the house. Eliot made it down the driveway without the Calvary coming out, so he figured that Hardison had successfully turned off the alarm. He parked the car, and cut the engine. He didn't want to wake Ava, but knew he'd have to. "Ava… Ava, wake up." He called softly. He touched her arm lightly, and she jerked awake.

"What?" she asked groggily.

"You're home." He said. Ava's eyes looked suddenly sad.

"Oh. Yeah. Home." She said. She got out of the car, and started walking towards the house. Eliot followed, wanting to make sure she got inside okay.

The moment they walked in the door, O'Conner was on them. "Ava! Where in the world have you been?" he demanded, his face hard. She looked at him blankly.

"Out." She said.

"Ava, I thought I made it clear that you were not to leave the house. And you! You were supposed to make sure she didn't leave!" O'Conner said, rounding on Eliot.

"I'm sorry sir. She slipped past me." He said.

"That's your excuse? She slipped past me?" O'Conner demanded. Eliot's face hardened.

"I don't make excuses. I'm telling you what happened, and that it won't happen again."

"Don't yell at him, Da." Ava said. Everyone turned and looked at her like she'd grown a third head. Everyone knew that she always let her guard take the blame in hopes she'd get them fired. And she never, ever, stood up for them.

"What?" O'Conner asked. Eliot stared at her, and her mouth tilted up slightly in a barely there smile.

"Don't yell at him. It's not his fault. I jumped off the roof, for crying out loud. How was he supposed to stop me. And besides, he brought me back, safe and sound. So I don't know why you've got your panties all in a twist." She said. O'Conner's mouth opened slightly in pure shock. "Don't look at me like that. I don't have the energy for this. I'm going to bed." She said. She turned, stopped, and then looked at Eliot again. "Oh, and Eliot?" she called. Eliot looked up at her. "Thanks. For everything." She then turned and went up to her room.

Everyone in the room was silent for a whole minute. Then O'Conner turned and looked at Eliot. "Well. I don't know what to say. It appears that not only have you done what few have accomplished by bringing my daughter back to me safely, but you've also accomplished the impossible. You've managed to get her to respect you. Well, all I have to say is you truly are the best." He said. Eliot nodded.

"Thanks." He said. He had no idea what just happened, but he had a feeling it'd be good for the O'Conner part of the plan, and very bad for the Ava part of the plan. Eliot would have to talk to Nate right away, and make sure he knew not to have Ava be included in any part of the con. He couldn't do that to her. Not now.

"Welcome to the team, Eliot." O'Conner said. "Oh, and just to warn you, the motion alarm got turned off for a few minutes just before you arrived. We think the equipments on the fritz. If it happens again we're going to call a service man, so keep an eye out, yes?" Eliot nodded, resisting the urge to smile. There was nothing wrong with their equipment.

"Yeah, I'll watch out for that." He said.

Eliot went back to the guest house, stripped, and fell into bed. The day had been exhausting, and he was beat. The next morning when he woke up, he was feeling agitated. He wanted to ask Ava what the hell was going on between them, but he wasn't sure how. Jesus, he'd known her for all of two full days, and he was already nearly out of his mind with wanting for her. He ran his hands through his hair, and sighed. Well, he'd never backed down from a challenge before, and this would be no different. Eliot got dressed, and resolved to ask Ava today, as soon as he found the right time.

He went into the main house for breakfast, and found that for once Ava was already up and at the table. She looked at him, and he swore he felt the pure heat of her gaze on his skin. He sat down on the team's end of the table, and the rest of the guys were instantly on him. "So." Cal started. Eliot raised a brow.

"So?" he asked.

"How did you do it?" he asked.

"Do what?"

"Get her to like you?" One of the other guys asked. "That never happens, unless you've been here for years!" he said. Eliot shrugged.

"I didn't do anything." He said. The guys didn't look convinced, but Eliot focused on his breakfast.

After everyone was done eating, Ava waited for Eliot. He walked up to her cautiously, unsure what to expect from her. The woman always had him on his toes. "I'm going into the stables today. You won't want to wear your nice suit. Meet me there in ten?" she asked. Eliot nodded, and headed back to the guest house. He was kind of excited to see the stables It'd been a while since he'd been around horses, and he realized that he missed it. He hoped he'd be able to ride today. He changed into jeans and a tee shirt, and a new pair of work boots, and headed out to the stables.

Eliot found the stables to be beautiful, and the best of the best, as was everything else on the property. There were about a dozen stalls, but only maybe half were full. Each horse was stunning, and well taken care of. Eliot heard Ava's voice, and moved to the end of the stables, to the last stall. Inside was a stunning Friesian mare. She was stunning, gleaming black, with the typical thick mane and tail of the breed. Ava was wearing jeans, tucked into black leather riding boots, and a soft tee shirt. She was stroking the mare's nose, speaking softly to her in Gaelic. The mare whickered, and Ava turned and smiled at Eliot. "Hello. Come on in, she won't bite. At least, not while I'm here." She said. Eliot walked into the stall, and held the flat of his hand out for the mare to sniff. She did, and whickered softly again. She pressed her nose into his hand, and Eliot began running his hands over her strong cheeks, and neck, talking to her.

Ava watched him, and listened as he spoke flattering nonsense to her girl. The horse closed her eyes, and made a soft sound of pleasure, and Ava smiled. She'd make a sound like that too, if he spoke to her like that, and ran those gorgeous hands over her like he was. He was good with horses; that was easy to see. He showed no fear, though the horse outweighed him by about a thousand pounds, and was quite a bit taller. His eyes softened, and his voice thickened with that honeyed, husky southern drawl as he spoke to her. His hands ran over the soft hair like water, and stroked her like a lover.

Eliot looked at Ava, and saw her watching him intently. "What's her name?" he asked.

"Phixius. It means putting to fight." She said. Eliot that it was classically Ava to name a Friesian, originally bred as a war horse, something like that. "When I first got her, she was only a year old. She was half wild, and wouldn't let anyone ride her. My father tried to break her spirit." Ava said, her eyes hardening. Phixius nuzzled her softly, and Ava relaxed. "I just convinced her that my way was the right way, and that I'd never hurt her. She came around to see my side of things." She said, smiling. Phixius shook her mane, and Eliot patted her neck.

"She's gorgeous." He said. Phixius whickered, and Ava laughed.

"Spoiled." She corrected. "I want to go for a ride today. You can come with. If you like. You can pick any horse that strikes your fancy." Eliot nodded.

"I'll saddle up then." He said, smiling. She smiled back.

"I'll meet you out front." She said.

Eliot walked down the stalls, looking at each of the horses. He found a gorgeous black and white painted mustang in one of the stalls, and knew instantly he was the one he would ride. Eliot went into the tack room, and selected a western saddle and bridle. He went back into the stall after setting down the tack, and got himself acquainted with the horse. The name on the stall was Zeus, and Eliot thought it was very fitting. He was a proud, and feisty horse, and nibbled on Eliot's shirt. Eliot laughed, and rubbed his neck. "You wanna go for a run?" he asked. Zeus whinnied softly, and Eliot grinned. "Atta boy."

He tacked Zeus up, and led him out of the stall, and out front. Ava was waiting, holding on to an Arabian style bridal, and western saddle. She turned at the sound of Zeus's hooves, and smiled. "Nice choice." She said. Eliot smiled. They both mounted, and began trotting down the path that led to the beach. She was an excellent rider. Her posture was perfect, her butt was practically glued to the saddle, and she and Phixius moved liked they were one and the same. She was incredible to watch.

Ava felt the same about Eliot. It was clear that he'd spent time around horses, and was comfortable around them, and riding them. He was relaxed in the saddle, sitting tall, and moving easily with Zeus's brisk gate. And he looked sexy as hell on a horse. He'd taken his hair out of its band again. Ava noticed he only tied it back when he had on the suit. She liked it down. She didn't normally like longer hair on men, but Eliot made it look hot. Ava smiled, and thought Eliot could probably make anything look hot. Her smiled widened when she thought how drastically her views on her personal body guard had changed in just three days. Three days was all it took for her to like him. Which she thought was kind of sad, but kind of amazing too.

Eliot looked over at Ava, and saw her smiling widely. His mouth curved automatically in response. "What?" he asked. She looked over at him, and shook her head.

"Nothing." She said. They rode on, and came to beach within minutes. The horses seemed to enjoy the soft sand, and would trot easily through the water. Ava grinned at Eliot. "Race you." She challenged. Eliot grinned.

"You're on." He said. They both kicked their horses into a gallop.

Ava was good; really good. She moved easily with Phixius, and then thundered over the shallow waves together. Zeus and Eliot held their own, keeping neck and neck for most of the way. Ava cried out in delight, and when Eliot looked at her face, he thought he'd never seen her look more beautiful. Her whole face simply lit up with joy. Ava raised her arm in surrender, and they pulled their horses back to a walk. Ava was laughing breathlessly. "Not bad for a prison guard." She said, grinning. Eliot laughed, and shook his head.

"Still see me as your prison guard?" he asked. It was asked lightly, but both knew that Ava's response was vital to how things would go on between them.

Ava took her time responding, making sure she knew the answer. Then she shook her head, and looked him in the eyes. "No. Not anymore." She said softly. Eliot's heart was pounding in his ears, and he took a deep breath.

"Ava… we should talk." He said. Ava nodded.

"I agree." She said. Both knew that they needed a few moments to gather their thoughts, so they rode on at a steady walk. After a few minutes they came to a part of the beach with grass just behind it. They dismounted, took off the horses saddles, and let them graze a bit.

They sat down on the sand, and looked out of the water. Ava began shifting her fingers over the sand, tracing random patterns. "Ava, I… I'm not sure how to start." He said.

"Neither am I." she murmured.

"I guess the first thing I have to ask is… what happened at the club?" he asked. She frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"You asked me to dance with you. And then there was a moment where I thought…" his voice trailed off, and Ava smiled.

"Yeah. I thought so too." She said. Eliot sighed, and rand his hand through his hair.

"What do you want to do about it?" he asked. Ava nearly laughed, thinking it was just like him to cut straight to the heart of things.

"Well… first I think I'd like to try it again." She said. Eliot's gaze snapped over to her face, and his eyes seemed to blaze with heat.

Ava shifted forward, then onto her knees, and Eliot rose to meet her. The stayed like that for a moment, both of them on their knees, on equal ground. The Ava wrapped her arms around his neck, and Eliot's hands gripped her waist. Her fingers dove into that wonderful hair, and she smiled. "I've been fantasizing about doing that for the past day and a half." She murmured. Eliot smiled.

"Well I've been fantasizing about doing this since the first time I laid eyes on you." He said. He bowed his head, and Ava held her breath. The moment his mouth pressed against hers, her eyes fluttered closed, and her heart stopped beating, and time stopped moving.

God but he could kiss. His hands gripped his waist lightly, and his mouth nibbled at hers, torturing, exciting, and arousing her beyond all belief. Ava heard a soft sound of pleasure, and realized it had come from her. She arched her back like a cat, and indeed felt like purring. When she felt his tongue trace the seam of her mouth, she parted her lips without hesitation. And was glad she was already on her knees, because she surely would have fallen to them had she been standing. His tongue traced the inside of her mouth, tasting her fully, just as she tasted him. And he tasted damn good. Like strong black coffee, and one hundred percent male. She could smell him too; untamed man and hint of horse. Heaven.

Eliot was in heaven. His hands filled themselves with her curves, and his mouth set about devouring her bite, by delicious bite. She smelled and tasted like everything a woman could or should ever be. Soft, mysterious, not overly flowery but feminine, with a trace of her horse and the sea. Simply stunning. Her hands tightened in his hair, and she made a small, almost helpless sound of pleasure, and Eliot felt his control tug sharply at its leash. Her body relaxed, and arched into his, a blind invitation for him to take more. But he wanted their first kiss to stay soft, so he ruthlessly buried his more basic, dark urges, and concentrated on exploring every inch of her pillow soft mouth.

When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers for a moment, and tried to catch his breath. When he had, he looked at her face, and nearly lost it again. Her mouth was red, swollen, and parted from his kiss, and her eyes were soft, darkened with desire, but slightly dazed. Her porcelain skin was flushed in the cheeks, like ivory and roses. He saw her pulse flutter at the base of her neck, and controlled the urge to sink his teeth there. He shook his head. "Do you have any idea what you do to me?" he asked. Ava shivered. His voice was huskier than normal, and slightly strained.

"If it's anything like what you do to me, than I think I have an idea." She said.

He looked at her with those eyes that never missed a thing. "Have you decided now?" he asked quietly. Ava looked back, and felt the fire leapt suddenly higher in her blood.

"Yeah. I've decided." She said.

"And?"

"I've decided I never want you to stop kissing me." She said. Then her mouth was on his, and even if Eliot wanted to fight back, which he didn't, he didn't think any man could have. She quite simply shattered all control he had left, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Her mouth slanted over his, and Eliot shifted in a lightning fast move so that she was lying on the sand beneath him. Ava wasn't complaining though. Her arms locked around his neck, and focused all her attention on devouring him as he had her. His hands were rough, and he knew it, but couldn't stop it. They gripped her hip roughly, trying to get her as close as humanly possible, and then closer. Her body vibrated beneath his, and he made a sound that closely resembled a growl. He broke free from her mouth, only to do as he'd wanted, and scrape his teeth over her pulse point on her neck. Ava moaned , and turned her neck to better expose it to him.

Eliot bit her lightly, and then soothed her flesh with his tongue. Ava squirmed beneath him, and whispered a word in Gaelic. He didn't realize until now what a sexy language it was. He could feel her heart raced beneath his mouth, and tasted her honeyed scent on his tongue. Ava arched her hips invitingly towards his, and Eliot clamped his hand down on her hip. He pulled away, and Ava gasped at the look of pure lust on his face. She thought it probably mirrored hers. "Don't do that." He said.

"What? This?" she asked, wickedly, and arched her hips again. His grip on her tightened.

"Yeah, that." He said.

"Why not?"

"Because if you do, I'm going to take you right here on this beach." He said. Ava pondered this.

"Interesting suggestion. Did you know that the nearest neighbor I have is five miles away? That's at least two miles from this point right here." Ava said. Eliot grimaced, knowing where she was going with that line of thinking.

"Ava, I'm already having trouble controlling myself. Don't, push it." He said. She smirked.

"In case you haven't noticed, I like pushing my limits." She said.

"Not this way." He said. Ava sighed.

"Fine. Ruin my fun." She said. Eliot gave a strangled laugh.

"God, buy you're a wonder." He said. Ava smiled warmly.

"Thanks." She said.

Eliot rolled over, so that they were lying side by side on their backs. "So, where do we go from here?" Ava asked.

"I don't know." Eliot said. Ava shifted so she was raised up on her elbow, her head in her hand.

"I supposed we could just play it by ear. Day to day, no strings." She said. She started tracing random patterns across Eliot's chest as she'd done in the sand, and he found it oddly soothing. "After all, I don't think either of us is really looking for a long term relationship." She said. Eliot smiled. God but he liked this woman.

"No. Not particularly." He said. Ava smiled.

"Good. Then we're on the same page." She said.

"Well, one more thing." He said. She frowned.

"What?"

"You're father can't know." He said. Ava rolled her eyes.

"For God's sake, I'm a grown ass woman, and we're both adults. Why should my father matter?" she asked. Eliot sat up, and Ava did as well.

"Because Ava, it could cost me my job." He said. That immediately sobered her.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't think of it like that." She said softly. Eliot blinked in surprise at the look of guilt on her face. "I guess that was selfish of me." She said, frowning deeply.

Eliot sighed, and framed her face lightly with his hands, making her look at him. "Don't worry about it." He said. "We've just gotta be careful. Alright?" he said. Ava nodded.

"Are you…" she stopped.

"Am I what?" he asked. Ava bite her lip.

"Are you sure it's worth it? I mean, you could get fired. I don't want to be responsible for that." Ava said. Eliot shook his head. It was figured she would shoulder all the responsibility for this. He kissed her lightly, and she sighed.

"I'm sure that I can't take spending the time I'll be working here without being with you like this." He said. Ava's eyes lit with pleasure, and she smiled.

"Good. Because I can't either." She said. She grinned. "I'll probably have to pretend that I still don't like you." Eliot chuckled.

"That's okay. I kind of like fighting with you." He said. Ava laughed.

"You're such a masochist." She said.

"And you're a sadist." He said. She threw her head back and laughed.

"Maybe just a little." She said. Eliot shook his head, and kissed her again. Ava sighed into his mouth, and then they were both lost in each other.

After spending another hour or so at their own little haven, they re-saddled the horses, and headed back to the house. After taking off all the tack, and grooming the horses, they set them out to pasture, and headed to the guest house so that Eliot could change back into the suit. Ava said she wanted to come too, saying that she wanted to see where he lived. Eliot shrugged, and let her come along.

When they got inside, Ava looked around. "Not bad. That's pretty much the only good thing about dad. He always takes good care of his employees." She said. Eliot wanted to ask her what she knew about all the bad things, but figured there was time for that later.

"I suppose." He said.

"It's kind of bare." She said. "Don't you have any personal things?" she asked. Eliot shrugged.

"Not really. I try not to get attached to material things." He said.

"Why?" Ava asked. Eliot was silent for a moment, and Ava flushed. "Sorry, sometimes things pop out of my mouth before I think about them. You don't have to answer that." She said. Eliot rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to apologize. I'm not offended by your questions. It's just if I don't want to answer, than I won't." he said. Ava relaxed, and smiled a bit.

"Okay." Eliot shook his head. For such a strong woman, she sure worried about the weirdest stuff.

"I'll be back. I'm going to change." He said. He stepped into the bathroom, and stripped off his casual clothes, and set about putting on the stupid suit again. He hated wearing that stupid thing every day, but dealt with it because it was part of the job.

He came back out of the bathroom, and saw Ava lying on his bed, her eyes closed, her mouth curved in a smile. Seeing her on his bed gave him an odd sensation. He liked it, and wanted her to stay there. He shook himself, thinking that he might have been losing his mind. He walked forward, and Ava's smiled widened. "I like your bed." She said. She opened her eyes. "It smells like you." She murmured. Eliot pulled her to her feet, and kissed her senseless. Ava matched his passion with her own, and soon Eliot was ready to toss her onto the bed and keep her there for the next few hours.

Ava pulled away first, and put her hand on his chest. "God. We've gotta stop, or we'll never make it out of here." She said. Eliot agreed. "And besides, it's time for lunch, and I'm starving." She said. Eliot laughed. A woman after his own heart. They left the guest house, and went inside the castle, as Eliot and the guys on the security referred to it. When they got inside, the butler came out of nowhere.

"Miss Ava?"

"Yes?"

"Master Bryan wishes to speak to you." He said. Ava shrugged.

"Then he can come downstairs." She said. The butler sighed.

"Miss Ava, I-"

"I don't want to hear it, Myles. I'm going to eat lunch, and Da can come down here and speak to me if it's important." She said.

"I guess it's a good thing I'm already down here, then." Ava's head snapped up, and saw her father walking down the stairs. "Must you be so stubborn?" he asked.

"Yes." Ava answered simply. O'Conner sighed.

"I wanted to speak to you about your mother." He said. Ava's eyes instantly flashed, and her body tensed.

"What about her? Is she okay?" she asked.

"Today is one of her better days, but she has an appointment scheduled with her Oncologist today. Do you wish to come with us? I know you prefer knowing everything." He said, sounding slightly irked. Ava's eyes filled with grief, and Eliot immediately wanted to comfort her. This was what the team had missed. Eliot hadn't even known Ava's mom was sick. And now he knew she had cancer. That was about as rough as it got.

"Yeah. I want to come." She said.

"Very well. You're mother's already in the car. We'll wait while you change. Eliot, we shall not be needing you today. I'm going to take Cal with us. We may have the rest of the day off if you wish." He said. Eliot nodded.

"Thank you, sir." He said. O'Conner nodded, and went outside, to where Eliot assumed he joined Ava's mother in the car.

Eliot faced Ava, and held her hand. "Are you okay?" he asked. Ava nodded, and Eliot could see her fighting back tears.

"Yeah. I'll be okay." She said.

"Its okay, Ava. You don't have to be strong all the time, you know." He said. She gave him a shaky smile.

"You already said that." She said. Eliot smiled.

"Well apparently you need told again." He said. She laughed, and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks." She said. She sighed. "I wish you could come with. You know how to keep things in perspective for me." She said. Eliot felt something strange grip his heart, but shook the sensation off.

"You'll be fine without me. You'll have Cal with you." He said. Ava nodded.

"Yeah. Cal's always been like an uncle to me. He has the best working relationship with my father, and he's always taken care of me." She said.

"I'm glad." Eliot said. He was glad that someone had stepped in as a male supporter for Ava, because O'Conner sure as hell wasn't fit for the part. Ava sighed.

"I'll see you when I get back. Try to do something fun for me." She said. Eliot laughed.

"Sure." He said. She went upstairs to change, and Eliot tried to shake off the panicky feeling he had in his gut. He wasn't sure why, but Ava wanting him to go with to her mother's doctor's appointment as moral support made him feel afraid. A little voice inside his head said that it was like she was already starting to depend on him. But Eliot knew better. She said herself she wasn't looking for anything long term. She was just enjoying the now. And living in the now didn't mean that their relationship was meaningless. They could care about each other, and still not have any strings attached. Couldn't they?

Eliot shook off those thoughts, and got down to business. With Ava, the team, and O'Conner being gone, it was the perfect time to check in with Nate and the team. Eliot went back to the guest house, where he'd begun to keep the com, turned off. He decided he'd probably keep it that way, especially now that he and Ava were involved. He switched it back on, and stuck it in his ear. "Nate? Anybody there?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh, Eliot! We were wondering when we'd hear from you. How's recon going? Are you staying safe?" Sophie asked. Eliot smiled. He liked dealing with Sophie best, mostly because she was nice without being naive.

"It's going good. I've found out quite a bit so far. Listen, everyone's leaving the house for a few hours, so I get the rest of the day off. I figured I'd come over and fill you guys in, in person." He said. And tell them about what his relationship with Ava. He wasn't looking forward to that conversation, but he knew that he owed it to the team to tell them, since it could affect them.

"Great! I'll let the rest of the gang know." She said. Eliot smiled.

"Thanks, Soph." he said. Then he took the com out, and turned it off. After spending a few minutes rehearsing in his mind what he was going to say to everyone, he sighed. This was going to be hell, he decided. He shook his head, and went back into the main house to say goodbye to Ava.

She was waiting inside the main entrance way, dressed in fresh jeans, and a button up white blouse with quarter sleeves. She'd taken her hair out of its braid, and must have showered quickly, because her hair was still damp. He realized with a start that her hair was naturally curly, with big, loose curls that tumbled down her back. She knocked the air right out of his chest. She smiled at him. "I was hoping you'd say goodbye." She said. Eliot smiled slightly.

"You'll only be gone a few hours." He said. She shrugged.

"I know." She moved forward, leaned up on her toes, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, and kissed him. Eliot kept his eyes closed for a moment after she pulled away, savoring her taste. He opened his eyes again, and touched her cheek gently.

"Good luck." He said. She sighed.

"Thanks." She walked away, and waved as she walked out the front door. Eliot watched as the car pulled away, thinking that his next few hours wouldn't be much more enjoyable than hers.

**Ending Note: **How'd you like it? I hope you did. : ) So how do you think the team will take learning that Eliot is involved with one of their marks for the con? We'll see next chapter! :D Reviews, favs, and alerts are, well you know… good! XD


	5. Comfort Ch 5

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity. **

**Author's Note: **WOW. Just… WOW. I don't think I've ever gotten such an amazing response in such a short amount of time! Thanks soooo much to **saides**, **Trapper Creek Kaniac**, **xxdevil9xx**, **groovinontheinside**, **Socialoutcastwinneroftheyear**, and **maron771121**, who were my first reviewers! You guys are amazing, and I can't thank you enough for reviewing my fanfic! Also, thank you to everyone who has read, faved, and added my story to their alert list. Again, can't thank you enough! Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter! Hope to have the next one up soon. XD Love you guys!

**Comfort**

The drive to the house that the team was sharing was a tense one for Eliot. He wasn't sure how he was going to break it to the team that he'd broken one of the basic rules when running a con. Don't have feelings for the mark. But he knew that it was something that he'd have to do. He owed it to them, and he needed to tell them the truth if they were going to trust him. Even if Eliot's first instinct was to keep everyone out of his personal life.

When he got to the house, Parker came bounding out. "Eliot!" she called. She skipped forward, and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "How've you been? Are you having fun, is it awful?" she asked. Eliot raised a brow.

"Have you been having sugar again, Parker?" he asked.

"Maybe just a cookie… or five. But that's beside the point, silly. Tell us all about it!" She said enthusiastically as they walked in the door. Nate, Hardison, and Sophie were all in the living room waiting for him. Sophie smiled, and gave Eliot a fast hug, because she knew he didn't like a lot of physical contact. Hardison gave him a fist bump, and Nate nodded.

"You okay?" he asked. Eliot knew it was Nate's way of showing concern, so he nodded.

"Yeah. I'm good." He said.

"Good. So, tell us what you've found out." He said.

"Well, for starters you were right. Ava hates her father with a passion. I'm not entirely sure why yet, but I think it goes deeper than him just keeping her confined to the house. Also, the wife, Helen, has cancer." He said. They all went still, and somber. "Yeah. Ava takes it pretty rough, blames her dad. Not sure about the why there either. The whole family keeps their emotions to themselves. Cal, the main security leader is warming up to me, though. I might be able to get him to talk to me about O'Conner's business since I'm on the team now. I'm not sure about O'Conner yet. He might talk to me, he might let me do a job, but I'm not sure yet. But one thing is for sure, he's starting to trust me, mostly because of Ava. I think if I stick it out there for the whole month, I can really get a feel for this guy and his operation." Eliot finished.

Nate looked thoughtful, and nodded slowly. "Yes, yes, good. This all good information, especially since you've only been there three days. Is there any way we can use the daughter in part of this? Get her on our side, get her to flip on her father?" Eliot tensed, and cleared his throat.

"Uh, I've been meaning to talk to you about that." He said.

"Yes?"

"I don't want you to use Ava for this… at all." He said. Nate frowned.

"Why? You said she's starting to like you, trust you. She'd be the perfect way in." he said.

"And that's exactly why I won't let you use her." Eliot said angrily.

"Let us?" Sophie asked, her brows raised. "Oh, Eliot, tell me you didn't." she said. Eliot's jaw clenched, and he didn't say anything. "Jesus, Eliot, you know better than that." She said. The thing about Sophie was that she hardly ever raised her voice. She just talked in that exasperated, disappointed voice, and that was even worse.

"What are you talking about Sophie? What am I missing here?" Nate asked.

"Well isn't it obvious? He's fallen for her." Sophie said. Everyone threw their hands in the air, and started talking.

"Damn it, Eliot. What's the matter with you?" Nate demanded.

"Man, we leave you alone with a pretty girl for three days, and this is what happens?" Parker said. Eliot clenched his fists.

"Look, it's not my fault! It's not like I did this on purpose, it just happened!" he said. "And I haven't fallen for her." He said, rounding on Sophie. "I care about her is all, and…" he drifted off.

"Shit man, are you already sleeping with her?" Hardison asked. Eliot wanted to punch him. "Damn, you move fast!" he said. Eliot grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and nearly pulled him off his feet.

"Don't talk about her that way. Understood?" He asked, his voice low and dangerous.

"Dang, understood. Jeez, you don't gotta go all crazy on me, god damn." He said, raising his hands in surrender. Eliot slowly let him go, still controlling the urge to punch him.

"Eliot, this simply won't do." Sophie said. "It'd be one thing if it was just a fling, then we could use her. But if you sincerely care for her, and won't use her that way, it could muck up this whole con." She said.

"Look, I know what I'm doing." Eliot said. "We can do this without her." He said. Nate was silent, and deep in thought. Sophie looked doubtful.

"Alright, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to think about this for a few days. If I think we can still do this completely without using the girl, you can stay. If not, I'm pulling you out, Eliot. And if there's even a split second when you think you can't do this…" Nate said.

"I can." He said, adamant. He hadn't forgotten why he was here, and he was going to finish this. Nate sighed.

"Alright. For now, go back there, and continue normally. I'll contact you on the com if I decide to pull the plug." He said. Eliot nodded, and decided it was time to go.

He walked out the door, and Parker followed him. "Wait! Eliot!" he stopped, and turned. She stopped in front of him. "Do you really like this girl?" she asked. Eliot didn't respond, but Parker didn't seem to need him to. "Then don't you think you should leave her now? Before it gets too painful? For both of you?" she asked.

"Parker, it's not that big of a deal. I'll be fine." He said.

"I'm not so sure. And what about her? What do you think will happen when we finish the con, and you disappear?" Parker asked. Eliot had been struggling with the same question.

"Neither of us is looking for anything permanent, Parker. It's just for now." He said. Parker shook her head.

"That's what they all say, Eliot. Don't say I didn't warn you." She said, and turned and skipped back to the house. Sometimes that girl was scary smart, and other times she was just scary. He wasn't sure which time this was.

Eliot shook his head, and walked to the car. Even though he tried to shake off Parker's words, he couldn't. What if when the time came, one or the other of them couldn't walk away? What if he came to care for her too much? What if she started to get the wrong idea about them? Eliot knew what heartache felt like, and knew it wasn't pretty. Especially when it came to his heart. He'd gotten his heart broken by his first love, and he'd run from love and never looked back. He knew Ava could be different; worse. He knew Ava could destroy him. She was the kind of woman that could hold a man's heart in her hand, and not even realize it. Eliot put on hands on the steering wheel, and rested his forehead against his hands. He wasn't in love with her. But he knew that somewhere down the line he could be. It would be so easy to love someone like Ava. So painfully easy.

Eliot looked up, and took a deep breath. He was getting ahead of himself. He took a few moments to re-center himself, and bring his mind back into perspective. He'd known Ava for all of three days, and he was worried about falling in love. While he knew better than to think that it was impossible, he also knew he only had a month with one of the most amazing women he'd ever met. He would have to shove all of that out of his mind, and only enjoy the time he had. If he let his thoughts overrun his mind, it only make things complicated, and messy, and neither of them had the time to spare for messy and complicated. With that new resolution, he started the car, and drove back to the main house.

Ava and her parents weren't back yet, so Eliot spent some time alone in the training courtyard, loosening up, and clearing his mind. Then after a shower, he went and spent some time with Zeus and Phixius out in the pasture. He sat down in the soft grass, and let the smell of the horses and sea relax him. For the first time since he got to the Hamptons, Eliot took the time to really appreciate his surroundings. He could see why so many people enjoyed living here. It was beautiful, and of course it was privet. Eliot couldn't see himself living there, but he could see coming to visit every now and again.

Eliot was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of a car pulling into the drive. He stood, and hopped the fence to go see Ava. O'Conner got out of the first car, and helped his wife out. Cal and Ava got out of the second car, and Eliot's heart stopped in his chest when he saw Ava's face. It was blank, completely void of any emotions. Her eyes were flat and empty, and for one horrifying moment, she looked startlingly like her father. Cal looked at Eliot, and moved towards him. "Don't leave her alone." Was all he said. He put his hand on Eliot's shoulder, and then moved to help O'Conner and his wife.

Eliot moved towards Ava, and finally there was a flicker of life in her eyes. He moved to put his hand on her arm, and she jerked backwards, her face panicked. "Please, don't touch me. Not now… not yet." She pleaded. Eliot frowned, his eyes troubled, but did as she asked.

"Okay. Tell me what to do, Ava." He said, his voice gentle. Ava shook her head, desperately hating how lost she felt, and hating even more that the man that she knew instinctively shouldn't be understanding, had such an incredibly gentle side. Understanding tended to make her feel weepy and furious at the same time.

"I can't tell you that, because I don't know. Just… just leave me alone for a few minutes. I need a shower." She said. Eliot knew she was lying, because she'd taken a shower before they'd left. But he nodded anyways, and followed upstairs to her room.

She went straight into the bathroom, and closed and locked the door behind her. He heard the shower switch on, but even over the pouring water, he heard the faint sound of Ava sobbing. The sound tore at Eliot's heart, and he shut his eyes, trying to get a hold of himself. He decided he needed to know what was going on, and he didn't want to have to ask Ava. So he went to the one person he was fairly certain would tell him the truth without any B.S. He went to see Ava's mother.

He walked down stairs, and into the room he'd been in on his first day. He knocked on the door, and was given permission to enter. Ava's mother was sitting on the window seat, staring out at the waves. She turned and smiled weakly at Eliot when he came in. "Ma'am." He started. She waved it off.

"I told you, call me Helen." She said. Eliot sighed.

"Helen, what's going on?" he asked. She took a deep breath, and motioned him forward. He walked forward and crouched in front of her.

"I went to the doctor today. The treatment… well, it's simply not working." She said. Eliot felt a pang in his chest. "Ava's taking the news hard." She said. She seemed remarkably calm, and Eliot had a feeling that Helen had known that this was coming.

"How long did they give you?" he asked. She closed her eyes briefly.

"A month… maybe two." She said.

"There's nothing else that they can do?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm sure there is. There's always something more to do, but to be honest… I'm tired. I've lived a good life, and I'm ready to… to move on." She said.

Eliot started to argue, to say that she was making a mistake, but he saw the weariness in her eyes, and knew that she was right. She tired… very tired. He had a feeling that she'd fought for a long time, and was simply tired of fighting. He nodded slowly. She smiled. "I had a feeling you'd understand. Ava, however… She's a fighter, but doesn't have enough experience in the world yet to know when to stop fighting. She's not much younger than you I imagine, but she's been stuck here, making sure I'm looked after. That's partly why I've made this decision, but I'd never tell her that. She'd never forgive me." She said sadly. "But you, you know how to pick your fights, don't you?" she asked. Eliot didn't respond, but she didn't seem to need him to.

Helen looked out the window again, and sighed. "She doesn't need someone to take care of her. She can do that on her own. She needs experience, and the freedom she so desperately craves. Her father would never allow it, but after… well, after I'm gone there'll be nothing to stop her from leaving him. What will you do, I wonder, when she does?" she asked. Eliot was rendered speechless. "Oh, you didn't think I was blind to those long looks you two were giving each other, were you?" she asked, smiling. Eliot cleared his throat, and Helen laughed. She sounded like a faerie. "Well, I imagine it's too soon for the two of you to think about that sort of thing." Eliot relaxed in relief. "But make sure you do, eventually. Think about it, that is. And today… don't leave her alone. She's going to insist on it, but ignore her. I know what's best for my daughter, and right now, being alone is not it." She said. Eliot nodded, and stood to leave. He turned back, and looked at Helen.

"I'm sorry." Was all he said. Helen understood.

"Don't be. I'm not." She said. Eliot nodded, and went back upstairs to find Ava.

Ava was in despair. Her mother would be leaving her, and she simply wasn't ready for that. She wasn't ready to be alone. She'd turned on the shower, but instead of getting underneath the spray, she'd quite simply collapsed onto the floor, and began to sob. After a few minutes, she'd pulled herself together, and felt a little steadier. Or at least that's what she told herself. She thought she'd tell Eliot to take the rest of the day off, like he was supposed to. She couldn't bear to look into those vividly blue and understanding eyes. Not when she was right on the brink of breaking down. She couldn't bear to look weak in front of him. Not when he was so understanding about her weaknesses. Which she thought was fucked up. It wasn't right that she felt so desperately upset when someone who thought it was okay to be weak saw her that way.

Ava shook her head, and tried to pull the pieces of herself, that were slowly falling apart, back into place. When she thought she had them back into place, more or less, she walked out the door. There was Eliot waiting for her, leaning against one of her walls, looking for all the world like he'd wait there forever if he had to. The man seemed to have a never ending supply of patience. Ava purposely didn't look into his eyes, and tried to keep her face blank. "Hey. I think I really need to be alone for a while." She said. When he didn't respond, she sighed. "Please, Eliot. I don't want you in here." She said. Her voice had a little bit more bite then she meant it too, but that that was okay. All the more convincing for him, right? Wrong.

Eliot walked forward, and tried to touch her again. She jumped away like his skin would burn hers. "Don't. Eliot, I mean it." She said. Unfortunately her voice had no strength to it. He reached for her again, and when she tried to pull away again, he whipped her around, and locked her into an embrace. She squirmed, and became distressed. "Let me go! Please! Just let me go…" her voice ended in a whisper, and finally the little strength that she had built up fled from her. His arms were like iron vices, and they held her tightly to the strength and warmth of his body. Ava collapsed for the second time in one day. He caught her easily, and swung her up bridal style. He laid her on the bed, and then laid down with her. He pulled her into the strong circle of his arms, and held her tightly to his chest. She buried her face there, and for a moment was completely silent, and still. Then he whispered to her.

"It's okay. Just let go." He said. And then she was gone.

A sob ripped from her chest, and she fell apart in his arms. But curled there, somehow it felt like he was holding the pieces together for her. He kissed her hair, and didn't say a word. He just held her, lending her his seemingly endless strength. She wept there for what seemed like a life time, her body trembling. Eliot was trying desperately to hold on to his control, and be her strength. He wanted to get angry, to take out what was making her so distraught, but he knew that wasn't possible. So he just held her, and offered what little comfort he could.

After an hour, Ava's sobbing slowed, and her breathing began to even out. When she fell silent, Eliot pulled her closer, and nuzzled her neck. She sighed, and buried herself deeper into his embrace. The first thing out of her mouth made him laugh. "I think I've ruined your shirt." She said. He chuckled.

"I have others." He said. She sighed, and closed her eyes.

"This sucks." She said. "I hate crying. It makes me feel like shit." Eliot chuckled again.

"That's okay. Watching you cry makes me feel like shit." He said. She smiled a little, and the iron first that had hold of his heart loosened a little. He brushed her hair from her face, and stared into her eyes. There were vividly green, and startlingly soft. She looked beautiful, even when she wept. Tears glimmered on her cheeks like diamonds, and Eliot brushed one away with his thumb. She amazed him.

Ava sighed as Eliot touched her face. His hands had strength; strength she knew could hurt if his control ever slipped. But now, his hands were gentle, and light on her face as moth wings. "How are you holding up?" he asked. She shrugged, and then realization dawned on her.

"You talk to her?" she asked. He nodded. Ava took a shuddering breath.

"I don't know what I'm going to do. My mother says that I'm not allowed be sad. She's forbidden it." She said. Eliot smiled.

"That sounds like something you would do." He said. Ava smiled.

"Yeah, probably." She agreed. "She's been my everything for so long now, you know? I don't what I'm going to do without her." Eliot kissed her cheek softly.

"I don't know either. But I do know that you're the strongest woman I've ever met. I'm sure you'll make it through." He said. "And you've still got time left. You should treasure that." He said. Ava nodded.

"Yeah. You're right." She said.

Ava looked out the window, and saw it was already dark. They'd probably missed dinner. She sighed. "I should probably head back to the guest house." Eliot said. He started to shift, and a wave of panic shot through Ava. She gripped his arm.

"Wait!" Eliot stared her, confused. "Please… don't make me sleep alone tonight." She whispered. She hated herself for asking, but she didn't have a choice. She didn't know what she'd do alone in her room, in the dark. Eliot's expression softened, and he gently pushed her hand off.

"I'll come back." He said. "I promise." Ava relaxed, and nodded. Eliot slipped from her room, and Ava squeezed her eyes shut. She forced her mind to settle, and her body to relax. She needed to relax if she was ever going to get some sleep.

She got up, and went through the motions of getting ready for bed. She brushed her hair, but didn't bother to do anything with it. She brushed her teeth, and changed into a long sleeve shirt that was a little loose, and took of her pants, sleeping in her panties. She walked over to her door, and let Finn inside, who'd been whining pitifully. She snuggled with him on the floor for a little bit, taking comfort in his soft, warm fur, and his steady strength. She sighed, and kissed his head. "Thanks." She murmured in Gaelic. Finn rumbled, and stood to follow her to bed. "No, not tonight boy'o. You get the floor." She said. Finn grumbled, but walked away, and jumped up to lie down on the window seat. "Or the window seat." Ava said, rolling her eyes. She slipped in between the sheets, and closed her eyes, waiting for Eliot to come back to her.

Eliot waited until he was sure that everyone was asleep, and then got out of his own bed. He dressed in a clean suit, so that when he woke in Ava's room the next morning he wouldn't have to go back to the guest house for his clothes. He slipped out of his house, and across the yard. He opened the front door, and then started up the stairs. When he got to Ava's room, his heart beat faster. She'd asked him to come back, and he was secretly glad. He wanted to give her comfort, and he just wanted to be with her.

Eliot opened the door, and closed and locked it behind him. He didn't want anyone coming in on accident to find something they shouldn't. He saw Finn sleeping on the window seat, and smiled, knowing that Ava must have kicked him off the bed. Finn raised his head, and growled softly at them. Eliot just raised a brow, unimpressed. Finn dropped his head again, and Eliot smiled. He stripped out of his suit, and folded it neatly, setting it on a chair. He slipped into bed next to Ava in nothing but his boxers, and was about to reach for her when she rolled over. She shifted so that her head was on his chest, her arm thrown across his stomach, and her leg tangled with his. She rubbed her cheek against his skin, and sighed. "Eliot…" she murmured. He knew she couldn't possibly be awake, and marveled at her responsiveness.

He pulled her closer to him, and wrapped an arm around her, and was amazed to find how relaxed he was with her sleeping practically on top of him. He didn't, as a rule, sleep with a girl overnight. It made things complicated, and he avoided complicated in relationships. But Ava was different. She'd always been different. He tried not to linger too much on what that meant.

Eliot breathed in the unique scent that was Ava; sea, grass, woman, and sex. That was what she smelled like to him. Her body was soft and curvy, and fit perfectly against his own. She was wearing a loose long sleeve shirt, with a wide scoop neck that slipped and exposed her shoulder, and no pants. She'd left her hair alone, and the long, loose curls cascaded everywhere. He liked it that way. Eliot's body shuddered when Ava shifted in her sleep, and all but slithered against him. When she had settled herself against him again, Eliot relaxed and closed his eyes, and let himself fall into sleep.

The next morning, Ava stretched luxuriously, and found herself to be quite comfortable. She was lying on something firm, and deliciously warm. She rubbed her cheek against the smoothness beneath her, and breathed deeply. The scent was familiar, musky and mysterious; like pine and horses. When the memory of the scent clicked, Ava's eyes snapped open. Eliot! She was lying with her head on his bare chest, her arm across the hard ridges of muscle in his stomach, and her leg tossed over his. He was wearing nothing but boxers, and Ava sat up slowly to better enjoy the view.

His arm was tossed over his head, the sheet tangled around his legs. His chest was sculpted to perfection, the v-shaped muscles in his abs absolutely mouth watering. His eyes were closed, his face relaxed in sleep, his breathing deep and even. He looked good there, lying in her bed next to her. He had come back to her after all. Ava smiled, and shifted so she was lying in her original position. She snuggled into him, and sighed. She began tracing random patterns on his chest, like she had at the beach. His big body shuddered, and her fingers stilled. He turned his head so he was facing her, and opened his eyes.

He smiled his small, sexy smile, and drew her closer. "Good morning, beautiful." He murmured. Ava smiled, and shifted so that her arms were rested on his chest, and her chin rested on her arms.

"Hey. You did come back." She said.

"I promised I would." He said. Ava smiled.

"Yeah. I'm glad." She said. Eliot smiled, and brushed the hair from her eyes. She closed her eyes briefly, enjoying the sensation. Then she shifted, and leaned forward to brush her lips over his. Eliot tangled his fingers in her hair, and brought her closer. Eliot ran his hand down the curve of her waist, and cupped her hip. She moaned, and Eliot's tongue tangled with hers. Her taste exploded in his mouth, and he instantly wanted more.

He used the same move he'd used when they were sparing, and that day on the beach, and rolled so she was pinned beneath him. She arched upward and moaned as his mouth began to simply ravish her. His knee slipped between hers to press against her core, and she gasped, quickly becoming wild with need. Her hands streaked over the muscles in his arms to grip his shoulders, then smoothed down his back. When Eliot moved from her mouth to nibble on her bear shoulder, her nails bit into his skin, and he shuddered. Her hands moved to fist in that gorgeous hair of his, and tugged him back up so she could do her best to devour him. He made a sound deep in his chest that sounded like a growl, and Ava shivered in delight.

When Eliot pulled away, they were both breathing heavily. He rested his forehead against hers, and waited until they both had a bit more control. After a few moments, Ava spoke. "God but you can kiss." She murmured. Eliot chuckled, and noticed it wasn't only when she was angry that her voice lilted in the Irish rhythm.

"Same goes." He said. Ava shivered again at the husky sound of his voice. "We should get up. It's nearly seven thirty, and they'll come looking for you soon." He said. Ava nodded, and Eliot got to his feet, helping her up as he went. He kissed her softly once more, and then moved to get dressed in the suit he'd folded on the chair. As he was tugging on his slacks, he happened to glance over at Ava, and saw she was in nothing but her underwear, slithering into a pair of skin tight jeans. She paused, and patted Finn on the head as he leaned against her long legs. Eliot felt a shot of pure lust pump through his system as he watched her.

Ava turned, and saw Eliot in his slacks, holding his shirt, staring at her with enough heat to make her tingle. She smiled sultrily. "We could always stay in bed." She said, raising a brow suggestively. Eliot groaned, like a man faced with heaven, yet condemned to hell.

"Why do say things like that to me?" he demanded. She laughed.

"I like to torture you, remember?" He glared at her. She smiled, and tugged on her shirt, as he buttoned up his. As he was trying to tie his tie, she rolled his eyes. "I don't know how you get it to look right when you go about it like that." She said. She moved forward, and began to fix it herself.

"It takes me a while." He admitted.

"Mmhmm." Her clever fingers adjusted the tie herself, and then helped him into his jacket. She smoothed the lapels of the suit, and then smiled. "There. You clean right fine and gorgeous, Eliot." She said in a perfect Irish accent. Eliot smiled, and indulged himself by kissing her smiling mouth. He couldn't seem to get enough of her pretty little mouth.

"Same goes." He said. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and leaned into him.

"I wish I didn't have to face the rest of the world today." She said, sighing. Eliot held her, and heartily agreed. He wanted nothing more than to waste the day away in bed with her.

"I know. But you can't hide forever." He said, thinking of both his problems, and hers. She sighed, and nodded.

"Yeah, I know. It's a nice wish though." She said. Eliot smiled.

"Yeah. Come on, let's get something to eat." He said. She laughed, and followed him out the door. "What torture do you have planned for me today?" Eliot asked. Ava smiled, and considered.

"I was thinking of going for a swim." She said. Eliot raised his brow.

"In the ocean?" he asked. Ava laughed.

"Is there any other place?"

"A pool." He said. Ava shook her head.

"Not nearly as fun." She said. Eliot had a sudden image of Ava in a bikini, and decided that that would definitely be torture. "Afterwards, I was wondering..." her voice drifted off.

"Yes?" He prompted.

"Well, I was wondering if you could... if you could teach me to cook." She said, shyly. Eliot was surprised.

"Really?" he asked. Ava nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, I only know the basics, but you seem to really know what you're doing. And I want to do something fun, and relaxing today." she said. Eliot nodded.

"Any particular reason?" he asked. Ava sighed.

"I'm going to spend the evening with my mother, and I have the feeling that's going to be draining." she murmured. Eliot took her hand briefly, and gave it a squeeze.

"Okay. I'll teach you to cook." he said. Ava smiled, and Eliot did too. He was actually looking forward to teaching Ava something. He thought it'd be an interesting experience for both of them.

They went down to breakfast, and when Ava saw her mother, she tensed for a moment. "You're forbidden, remember?" Eliot murmured, reminding her of her mother's threat. Ava glanced at him, and smiled a bit.

"Thanks." She whispered. Then they went to their opposite ends of the table. Ava was quiet, but she spoke relatively freely, and did her best to smile. Eliot smiled, thinking that that was the Ava he knew. She was a fighter, and she'd hold her own the best she could. He thought her father looked a little shaken for once though. His face was blank, but his eyes were hard, and troubled. Eliot thought that maybe they weren't entirely right when they thought that he had little feelings for Helen.

Eliot heard Ava tell her father that she planned on spending the day at the beach, and heard his vague response of consent. Cal looked at Eliot. "I assume you're going with her." He said. Eliot nodded.

"It's my job." He said. Cal looked at him in a way that made him shift uncomfortably.

"Watch yourself, and remember what I told you." Was all he said. Eliot knew exactly what he meant anyway. Cal wanted him to watch his step when he was around Ava, and wanted him to remember that he'd told him falling in love with Ava would be the worst thing he could do. Eliot wondered if the threat was still valid if Ava cared for him as well. Eliot nodded regardless, and then the team stood and dispersed.

Ava waited for Eliot with an irritated expression on her face, but he saw her eyes lit with laughter as he approached. She sighed exasperatedly. "I'm just going to the beach you know." She said. Eliot bit back a smile, and nodded.

"It's still my job." She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. You'd better change so you don't get sand in your suit. Meet me in the barn." She said. Eliot needed all of his control not to laugh. He nodded again, and walked over to the guest house to change.

When he'd changed into swim trunks, pulled jeans over top, and tugged on a tee shirt, he headed out to the barn to meet Ava. She was in jeans and a tee shirt, and he guessed she had a bathing suit on underneath. She had Zeus and Phixius bridled, but not saddled. She had a beach tote on her shoulder, and was smiling. "Hey." She said. Eliot grinned, and walked forward until they were toe to toe. She shifted uncomfortably. "What?" she asked.

"You're a _terrible_ actor." He said. Ava laughed sheepishly.

"Yeah well, I won't quit my day job." She said. "I assume you're okay with bareback?" she said. Eliot nodded, and swung himself easily up onto Zeus. Ava followed, and they trotted out of the barn towards the beach.

They went to the same place they'd gone the day before, and set the horses out to graze. Ava pulled out two towels, and laid them out on the sand. She pulled her hair out of the pony tail she'd thrown it up in, and let it fall down her back. She smiled when she saw Eliot talking to the horses, stroking their noses, and laughed at Phixius's blatant flirting. He really was an amazing guy. Ava pulled out her sunglasses, and put them on her face. She stared out at the waves for a moment, and then started to strip.

That's what Eliot saw when he turned from the horses. And he wondered if he'd died… died and gone straight to heaven. Or maybe he'd just stumbled upon Shangri-La.

**Ending Note: **So I hope you liked this chapter! XD I hope to have the next one up soon! And thanks so much again for all the favs, reviews, and alerts. They make me soooo happy! XD But more are _always_ welcome. :D


	6. Decisions and Discoveries Ch 6

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity. **

**Author's Note**: WOW! I love this site, and everyone on it! You people are the best fans ever! You give me reviews, which make me happy. XD Thanks again everyone! And I personally, am really proud of myself for getting this chapter up so soon. :D Anyways, thanks again everyone! Hope you like this chapter. XP

**Decisions and Discoveries**

Eliot's breathe was stuck in his throat, and he felt every muscle in his body tighten with wanting for her. She wiggled out of the soft tee shirt she was wearing to reveal a simple blue bikini top. The fabric was sparse, and revealed a lot more than it covered. Her hair tumbled down the long creamy expanse of bare skin on her back, and shimmered like flames in the sunlight. She then shimmied out of the tight jeans she was taken to wearing, and Eliot groaned as her mile long legs covered in smooth, creamy skin were revealed inch by glorious inch. Ava folded the denim neatly to go next to the shirt, then pulled out two beach towels, and spread them on the warm sand. She then pulled out a little battery powered stereo, and turned it on.

Eliot shuddered as she folded herself gracefully down onto the towel, and began flipping through CD cases. Eliot smiled, and shook his head. She was nothing if not prepared. He walked forward, and sat down next to her. Ava looked up and smiled winningly. "Hey. What do you think?" she asked, holding up the CDs for his inspection. He flipped through them, and frowned in confusion.

"Solas?" he asked.

"It's an Irish band. I'm going to work on broadening your horizons in music." She said.

"And it's just a coincidence that your first choice to broaden my horizons is Irish" he asked, grinning. She grinned back.

"Not in the slightest." She said, laughing. "I take it you've never heard traditional Irish music?" she asked. He shook his head. "Well, you're about to." She said. She started taking the CD out, talking as she did. "The thing about the Irish is that we tend to be a little bit moody." Ava said, with a grin and a wink. "One moment will play you a song with a beat fast enough to steal the breath straight from your lungs. And the next, will play you a tune with words to wrench the tears straight from your heart." She said. As she spoke, a bit of the music of Ireland slipped into her voice. "This album is no different. So brace yourself for an emotional rollercoaster." She said. Eliot laughed.

The first song came over the speaker, and Eliot raised his brows. The sound of a fiddle practically burst from the speakers, the fast hot licks dancing wildly over the air. It wasn't so different from the fiddle used in country music, except of course the astonishing speed, and wildly spirited rhythm. "Wow." He said. "I'm impressed." He said. Ava smiled. When a woman's voice joined the instruments, Ava added her own. Just like that night at the club, Eliot was swept away by the magic in her voice. The music of the Irish speech flowed easily from her lips, and her entire face softened as she sang of war and a love lost. It was fascinating, the contrast between Ava's life, and the story of the life she sang of.

When the song was over, he mentioned this. Ava thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I disagree." She said. "Music is a great part of the Irish. It tells the story of our people, the history, the passions, and sorrows of us. I think when you know the music, and you can feel it, you're a part of it. All it takes is feeling the same feelings that are sung of to become a part of the music, and because of that, a part of the people." She said. Eliot paused for a moment, and then smiled slowly.

"You are one hell of a woman." He said. Ava smiled softly, and flushed lightly. Eliot loved it when she did that. He listened to the entire CD with her, and found he liked it a lot. The song he liked best was 'The Unquiet Grave'. When Ava sang that, he felt like the whole world held its breath and wept.

After putting in a mix CD of rock and roll style country, Ava grinned. "Up for a swim?" she asked. She didn't wait for his response, and darted across the sand towards the water. Eliot laughed, and ran after her. She dove beneath the rolling waves, and Eliot was close behind. The water was wonderfully cool, and salty. The waves rolled over the surface of the water, like a kind of massage. Ava loved it. She loved the sea like a childhood friend. She swam a ways from shore beneath the stunningly clear blue of the water, to where she could still just touch the sandy bottom with her feet, and then sprang from the surface. She rubbed the salty water from her eyes, and pushed the heavy wet ropes of her hair back from her face. She looked around for Eliot, and was confused when she didn't see him. Suddenly he burst from the water two inches in front of her, and Ava squealed like a little girl.

Eliot laughed, and Ava shoved at him, but her grin ruined any illusion of anger. "Jerk." She said, but with great affection. Eliot grinned, and brought her closer to him. She smiled sultrily, and taking advantage of the weightlessness the water provided, lifted herself up, and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. Eliot groaned, and his arms automatically locked around her. Ava grinned. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"You're killing me." He said, that husky voice of his sending shivers down her spine. But she smiled, and tangled her fingers in the wet strands of his hair.

"Good." She murmured. Then her lips were on his, and they were both blind to the world.

The taste of the sea was on both their lips, and the cool, rhythmic rolling of the waves, combined with the heat between their bodies, seduced them as easily as the kiss did. Locked together in the embrace, Ava felt the strength in ever line of his body. Tangled together, it was nearly impossible to tell where one left off, and the other began. It was one of the most intense, erotic sensations either of them had experienced. Eliot had never felt stronger than holding Ava in his arms, and Ava had never felt safer. Somehow, each of them felt like they could take on the world. Neither of them had ever felt like that in the arms of another. And so both of them knew that they were fooling themselves when they said that this was just for now… just for fun. They both knew that it was a lie. And a bad lie at that.

Ava felt something shift in the general area of her heart, and click softly, yet solidly into place. Her heartbeat stuttered, and her breathing became erratic. God… what was this feeling? She asked herself that question repeatedly, and couldn't find the answer. But she knew that if she wasn't in love, she was damned close. She'd never felt this way before, and that was a pretty good indicator that this was serious. Eliot was the first man that had damned the consequences of her father, and touched her, because he'd wanted to. And he was the first man besides Cal to risk himself to protect her. He was the first one who'd ever listened to her, done things that she's wanted to do, not because he had to, but because he'd wanted to share them with her, because he wanted to see her happy. Ava could feel that with every action that Eliot took. He'd been the first man to see her cry, to hold her and comfort her while she wept.

Oh god… Ava murmured in her mind. She was falling for him. Ava felt tears creep down her face, and was thankful that they were already in salty water. She wondered when it began. That morning when she'd discovered he'd come back for her? Last night when he'd offered strength and understanding as she wept? At the beach, at the club? Their first fight when she realized she didn't mind losing to him? Ava didn't know. It could've happened at any moment. Ava realized suddenly that she was on that last cliff, that perilous edge right before the fall. And it would be easily, so easy to tumble down. She should have known right away that it would be too easy to fall in love with a man like Eliot. He had the air of a true nomad, the bad boy, with the long hair, those eyes that never missed anything and had clearly seen too much. That quiet, resilient strength… she should have known better.

Eliot's thoughts were along the same lines. There was no denying anymore that he was in too deep. These feelings that he had for her went too far beyond anything else he'd ever felt. Even when he'd fallen in love the first time hadn't felt like this. That had been soft, easy, the love of a boy and girl. This was totally different; wild, crazy, complicated. And he was officially screwed. As that reality sank in, he cursed Sophie and Parker for being right that he was a fool for thinking that this wouldn't get serious.

When they pulled apart, Ava rested her forehead against Eliot's, and sighed. "I don't know about you, but I've never felt anything like this before." She murmured. Eliot shuddered.

"Me neither." He said reluctantly, after a few moments. Ava closed her eyes.

"What are we going to do about it?" she asked. She didn't want to, but she had to. She had to know where this was going. She hadn't been bluffing when she said she wasn't interested in a 'strings attached' relationship. But she couldn't help but feel like that each moment she spent with Eliot added a new string, and if she didn't get things under control, soon she'd either be tied irrevocably to him, or she'd choke on the strings.

"I don't know." Eliot said. He'd never felt like this, so he didn't know how to react. He internally cursed Parker for being so right. "I think we should just do what you said. Go with the flow. Try not to over think things." _You never knew how much time you have left_, Eliot added to himself. Ava nodded slowly.

"And how long are we going to dilute ourselves into thinking that that will work?" she asked. Eliot was torn between an odd sense of pride that she was so damn quick, and irritation for the same reason.

"As long as we can." He said roughly.

Eliot abruptly shifted his hold on Ava so that he was carrying her, cradled against his chest. He walked out of the waves, and then set her gently on the towel. He sat down next to her, and held his head in his hands. He had to make her understand the importance of keeping it uncomplicated in the interest of time, but he didn't know how to tell her without giving himself away. But he had to try. "Ava… there's something that you have to understand." He said. Ava leaned forward, and touched his shoulder.

"Eliot? What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing… it's just there's something you need to know, but I'm not sure how to tell you." He said. He wasn't looking at her, and Ava's heartbeat began to race. He was scaring her to death.

"Eliot, what is it? You're scaring me." She murmured honestly. Eliot turned to face her, and took her hands in his.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to scare you, but I don't know how to reassure you either." He said, frowning uncertainly. "I need you to understand that time… time is a very important issue with me." He said, trying to phrase it right.

"What do you mean?" Ava asked, frowning. "Are you leaving soon?" she asked, not sure what she would do if he said yes.

"No. But… Ava there are things about me that you can't know, and I can't tell you. But those things mean that when it comes to you, I can't… I can't afford to waste time. Do you understand what I'm telling you?" he asked.

Ava desperately wanted to ask what on earth he was talking about, but there was something in his eyes that warned her not to. It was a kind of pleading desperation, that tugged at her newly vulnerable heart. She ruthlessly buried her questions, and took a deep breath. He'd been nothing but understanding with her, and he deserved the same from her. "I think so. You want to enjoy the time that we have, so you don't want to overcomplicate things." She said trying to puzzle out his vague and slightly cryptic words. Eliot looked relieved though.

"Yes." He said. Ava nodded.

"I understand. But you need to understand that if something… if something about the way I feel changes, gets deeper, I can't not tell you." She said. Eliot's eyes softened, and he kissed her softly.

"I know. I wouldn't have it any other way." He said. Ava smiled, and then leaned back on the towel, Eliot followed.

They stayed there together until one, talking, kissing, listening to music, and occasionally would dash into the water to splash and play like children. When Ava and Eliot had both had their fill of sand, waves, and sun, they packed everything up, pulled their jeans and tee shirts back on, and swung up onto the horses. After they'd groomed Zeus and Phixius, and put them back in their stalls, Ava turned and faced Eliot. "Well, I'm ready to start my cooking lesson." She said cheerfully. Eliot smiled, and raised a brow.

"You sure?" he asked teasingly. She nodded. "Alright, come on." They headed to the guest house, and Ava felt her excitement begin to build. For some reason, she found it incredibly sexy when Eliot cooked. She wondered how much sexier he'd be when he taught her how to do it.

Eliot opened his door, and ushered her in. Ava was struck again by the space in the room. Immediately to the left was the bedroom, and then a wide expanse of space, then up a step into the dining room/kitchen, and down the hall was a study and bathroom. Ava though that the open floor plan made then house seem even bigger when combined with the fact that Eliot had so little personal possessions. It was still a nice space though, and what little things Eliot had brought with him made the space feel distinctly masculine.

Eliot moved into the kitchen, and tied his hair back. He put on an apron, and Ava had to bite back a giggle, and then a frustrated sigh. The man was wearing an apron for Christ's sake, and he still looked like he could take on an army single handedly. He looked over at her, and must have read the look on her face, because he raised a brow. "It's practical, and necessary." He said. Ava walked forward, and leaned against the counter in front of him.

"Mmhmm." Eliot rolled his eyes.

"Are you trying to say makes me less masculine?" he asked sarcastically. Ava smiled smugly.

"Honey, a pair of fairy wings and a tiara couldn't make you less masculine." She said. Eliot grinned, fast and wicked, and Ava suddenly found herself sitting on the counter with Eliot standing between her knees.

"Is that so?" he asked, his mouth a whisper away from hers.

"Yeah. That is so." She murmured. Eliot's mouth suddenly ravished her, his arms locked around her like iron vices, his hands fisted in her hair. Ava moaned, and nearly lost her mind when Eliot drew her tongue into his mouth, and then sucked hard. She dug her nails into his shoulders, and Eliot pulled away, sucking in a breath on a hiss. They stared at each other for a moment, both of their chests heaving.

"Cooking." Eliot said.

"Yeah. Cooking." Ava said. Eliot chuckled, and tucked a stray piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Come on, let's start." He said. Ava nodded, and slid down the counter, and followed him deeper into the kitchen. Eliot handed her an apron, and she smiled as she tied it on.

"Cooking," Eliot began. "Is all about the ingredients. It doesn't matter if you're a master chef or not; if you have bad ingredients, you're going to have bad food." He said. Ava nodded.

"Okay. Makes sense." She said. Eliot went around the kitchen, gathering things from the fridge, pantry, and cupboards, and set them all on the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Why do you have all this?" Ava asked. "We feed you." She said. Eliot shrugged.

"Sometimes I just like making my own food." He said. Ava smiled, and shook her head.

"You are a wonder, boy-o." she said. Eliot smiled, and tugged her closer to the counter.

"The basics you already know, right?" Ava nodded. "Well the thing you're lacking is the right preparations, and the right seasonings, things that a recipe might not tell you." Eliot said. Ava nodded.

"Okay."

"Since you know the basics, we'll skip the beginner stuff, but not something too complicated. How do you feel about Italian?" he asked. Ava smiled.

"Love it." She said. Eliot smiled.

"Good. We'll start with spaghetti. Pasta, sauce, salad, and bread. We'll start with the sauce since it takes the longest." He said.

Eliot dug into the ingredients, showing her everything, step by step, explaining everything he was doing. Together, they skinned, deseeded, and chopped the tomatoes to make the _homemade_ spaghetti sauce. Yeah. _Homemade_. The man was amazing. Then he showed which spices to use, and how much, and then they added Italian sausage. By the time it was simmering, Ava's mouth simply watered. She hovered over the pot, and tried to stick one tinsy little finger in for a taste. Eliot swatted at her hand, and Ava pouted. "Hey!" She said. "I only wanted a taste." She said.

"Later." He said. Ava sighed, and let it go.

After putting the pasta in to boil, and the bread in to heat (they'd used store bought for the garlic bread) and then started on the salad.

Eliot pulled out a knife, and did this twirling thing before chopping the lettuce. Ava stared blatantly, and licked her lips. Eliot glanced at her. "What?" he asked, still looking at the lettuce.

"That was super sexy." She said. Eliot's hand froze, and Ava knew she had his full, undivided attention when his gaze rose to meet hers.

"What?" he asked.

"That thing you did, with the knife. For some reason I find it to be undeniably sexy." She said, moving forward so that her body was mere inches from his. He raised a brow.

"Really?" he asked. Ava grinned wickedly.

"Yes, really." She said. Eliot responded with a mischievous grin of his own.

"I'm thinking you're going to have to prove that to me." He said. Ava laughed, a throaty sound that went straight Eliot's libido.

"If you insist." She raised up on her toes, making sure that their bodies didn't so much as brush, and paused a paper's width away from his mouth. Her eyes stayed open and aware on his face. "Have I mentioned that you have very, very, attractive hands?" she asked. Her mouth was so close to his that as she spoke it whispered torturously against his. He made a sound that rumbled through his chest, and made Ava shiver, reminding her that no matter how much power she had over him, he would always have the same amount over her.

"No." he answered. Ava smiled.

"They're strong, and I like watching them as you work. Whether it's when you fight, or when you cook… or when you touch me." She whispered. She finally touched her lips her lips to his, and he was gone.

Eliot felt his control snap like a cannon boom in his mind, and once again had to think, and think hard on how tightly he gripped Ava. He lifted Ava and spun around in the same movement, and sat her down on the counter again. He parted her knees roughly, and she gasped into his mouth. He swallowed it like wine, and was drunk on both of their passions. He ate at her lips like he was starving, and she was the only sustenance available. All Ava could do was hold on tight and enjoy.

After several of the hottest moments in her life, Ava heard an insistent beeping noise, and it irritated her, because it distracted her from the heaven she found in Eliot's kiss. But when she realized what it was, and noticed that Eliot hadn't noticed it, she chuckled against his lips. "Eliot?" she said, her voice breathless.

"What?" he demanded sharply, moving to began to snack on her neck. Ava lost her train of thought for a moment, and moaned as he sucked on the special spot at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. She shook her head sharply to clear it.

"I do believe that the timer is going off." She said.

"Hmm?" he rumbled against her skin, and Ava's eyes rolled into the back of her head. Damn but the man knew how to seduce a woman.

"The timer." She repeated. "It's going off. The food might burn." She said. That seemed to clear the fog in Eliot's mind, and he raised his head, and turned towards the stove. He cursed violently, and moved to turn things off, and pull things out of the oven.

When the food was safe from being burnt, Eliot turned back to face Ava, and moved to pull her against him, and cup her cheek. "That's one of the first times I've ever gotten so wrapped up in someone that I was oblivious to what was going on around me." He said.

"Is that a bad thing?" Ava asked.

"In my line of work, yes."

"You're not working right now." She said. Eliot's heart contracted, knowing that she wasn't right.

"Yeah, I'm not working. But still…" he let the sentence hang, and Ava smiled smugly.

"I for one am thrilled. It's nice to know I'm not the only one affected." She said. Eliot smiled, trying to lighten his own mood.

"Trust me sweetheart, you are definitely not the only one affected." He said. Ava shivered.

"God, I'm a sucker for that accent." She said. Eliot raised a brow.

"You're the sucker for an accent?" he asked. She smiled.

"I don't always have one." She said. Eliot smiled.

"Yeah. But I like it. It's sexy." He said. She smiled.

"Well in that case…" he reached up and brought his head closer, and began murmuring to him in Gaelic. He shivered, and kissed her neck.

"What does it mean?" he asked. She smiled.

"I'll tell you one day." She said. He shook his head, and smiled, and then turned her around to face the kitchen.

"Now go on and set the table. I'll finish the salad." He said, giving her a friendly pat on rump. She squeaked, and threw him a sassy pout over her shoulder before sauntering off to set the table. He chuckled to himself, and set about finishing the salad. As he picked up the knife, he grinned. He didn't think he'd ever look at chopping salad the same way.

All through dinner, Eliot had serious problems controlling his libido. Ava was a very… vocal eater when she really liked the food she was eating. A discovery Eliot made the hard way. As soon as the first bite was in her mouth, she moaned loudly, and rolled her eyes in pure bliss. "My god this is delicious." She said. "If I wasn't so fiercely proud to be Irish, I'd wish I was Italian. This is…" she took another bite and moaned. "Pure heaven. I think I'm having a religious experience." She said. Eliot smiled tightly, and tried to urge his mind away from all the other ways he wanted to make her moan.

"Why thank you. But you know you cooked too." He said. She smiled brightly, her eyes lighting up, and Eliot's heart tightened painfully. She looked so damn beautiful when she was happy.

"I know! I'm so proud of myself." She said. Her face softened, and she touched his hand. Eliot suddenly found it was a little hard to breath. "Thank you, Eliot." She said quietly.

"All I did was show you a few tricks." He said, frowning in confusion. What on earth could make a woman like her look at a man like him, like that. Like she'd just won the lottery, and he was the prize. He couldn't understand it. He was no prize. He was a fighter, a nomad, drifter, thief; he'd been defined as many things, none of them particularly flattering or honorable.

"You did more than that. Eliot, these past few days have been some of the best in my life. I mean that." She said at his doubtful look. "You listen to me. You care about me. You taking the time to teach me something was icing on the cake really. So thank you." She said. Eliot nodded, and gave her hand a squeeze. She smiled, and went back to her food. Eliot took a deep breath. Damn if he wasn't royally screwed.

After eating, they washed dishes together. It was a homey, normal chore that felt nice to do with each other. Talking, working in tandem, and letting worries drift away. But when they finished, Ava looked out the window above the sink, and frowned at the main house. Eliot knew she didn't want to go back, didn't want to have to face the finality of spending precious time with her mother. He put a hand on her shoulder, lending her strength without even thinking about it. She sighed, and put her hand over his. "I don't want to do this." She murmured.

"I know." He said simply.

"I know she wants to talk about things… Get them out of the way now so that we have time to spend together without worrying about it." She said. "But I don't want to talk about those things. Because talking about them makes it real. And I don't want it to be real." She said.

"You have to face it, Ava. Now, so that you can treasure the time you have left." He said. He took a deep breath. He knew pretty much everything there was to know about Ava. But she knew nothing about him. He knew he couldn't tell her everything, but he could tell her something. A give in return for all the taking he'd done with her. "I was in love once." He said.

That caught Ava's attention. She turned and faced him. "Really?" He nodded.

"Yeah. She lived and worked with her daddy, who trained race horses in Kentucky, and I did odd jobs for him around the place. We were just kids, no more than nineteen." He said. The bittersweet taste of the memories flooded his mind. "We fell in love slow and easy. It was one of the best summers I had as a kid." He said.

"What happened to her?" she asked quietly.

"I made her a promise, that I'd always be there for her. Problem was I made the same promise to the U.S government, and I found out the hard way that you can't make that promise to more than one person." He said. Ava was quiet for a moment.

"You left her for the military?" she asked. Eliot nodded. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked.

"Because, if I'd have known that that summer was going to be the last I had with her, I would have done things differently. A lot differently. I would have spent every spare moment I had with her, and told her how I really felt; all of it. But I didn't. You're lucky, because you know. Some people say that they wouldn't want to know when the end was coming, but I disagree. I'd want to know, so that I could do things the right way, and treasure every last second that I had." Eliot said.

It really hit home then what he was doing. He knew when the end would come with Ava, and so he was doing exactly what he said he would do. He'd treasure every last moment with her. He knew he was being a little hypocritical though, because he was refusing to tell her how he really felt. But he told himself that these were special circumstances, so it didn't count.

Ava nodded slowly. "I think I understand. Thanks." She said. There was a new determination in her eyes, and Eliot felt an odd sense of pride. She was a fighter, and one hell of a woman. "I should go now. There are things I need to talk with her about." She said. Eliot nodded, and gave her a light kiss on her forehead.

"Good luck." He said. She nodded, and headed out.

The moment Ava left, Eliot sighed. He knew that he had to get some work done, or Nate would have his hide. He changed into his suit, and headed into the main house. There were a few things that he needed to check, and a few rocks he needed to overturn. And he needed to talk to Cal. Get some information, see if he could get him to loosen up a little and spill some information.

After an hour of snooping, Eliot wasn't much better off then he'd been before. Cal had chatted easily enough, but when asked about O'Conner, he'd sealed his lips. He just shook his head, and said that it was bad enough Eliot was working for him. He didn't need to know anything beyond that. Then Cal had changed the subject to Ava, and Eliot decided that he needed to get the hell out of there.

He'd gone up to O'Conner's office, but there hadn't been anything on the laptop. Hardison had hacked into it remotely, but apparently O'Conner had people that handled his personal and technological security as well. All they'd found was the payroll, scans of the deeds to the houses and businesses that O'Conner owned, and the medical information on Ava's mother, Helen. Hardison said that it would take him a while to dig deeper, and said some other gibberish about how having the IP address, and something else would help. Eliot followed his instructions, and Hardison seemed happy with the information that he'd given him, so Eliot considered the snoop session at least semi-successful.

Eliot had also made some casual conversation with some of the other staff, trying to get a better feel for O'Conner, trying to find a weakness other than Ava. When talking to one of the other security men, one of the newbies had let it slip that soon they'd be starting work with another 'high roller' in New York. High roller generally meant another big organized crime group. Eliot hadn't wanted to push the guy too far too fast, so he'd let it slid, but made sure Nate knew about it so that they could keep the information on file for later.

When Eliot stuck his head into Ava's room at six to see if she was back from her time with her mother and ready for dinner, he saw her lying on her bed, Pan curled at her side. She looked sad, but not distressed. Like she was prepared for and resigned to the sadness, and she was ready to deal with what was to come. Eliot was glad that she was better prepared for her mother's death, but it didn't make it any easier for him to see her so sad.

He tapped lightly on the doorframe, and called out to her. She raised her head, and smiled sadly at him. "Hey. Did you get anytime off while I was out?" she asked. He walked inside, and upon seeing him in his suit, she shook her head. "Apparently not." Eliot smiled.

"Well when I'm with you I don't really work. So I consider my time off as my time to get actual work done." He said. Ava smiled.

"I'm glad you don't see it as work." She said. He sat down on the bed next to her.

"Me too." He said. He cupped her cheek in his hand, and kissed her softly. When he pulled back, he saw the twin flames of desire leap into her eyes, and bit back a groan. He loved her responsiveness, but one of these days it was going to kill him.

"Dinner ready?" she asked.

"Hungry?" he asked. She smiled slowly.

"Famished." Eliot grit his teeth against the desire to throw her back down on the bed.

"Yeah. It's ready." He said. He stood quickly, and walked halfway across the room to wait for her, trying to put distance between them. It didn't help much.

All through dinner, Ava had apparently made it her life's mission to try and give him a heart attack from overdose of lust. She talked easily to her mother, and even said a thing or two to her father. But every two minutes she'd look down the table, and give him a look hot enough to make the table catch fire. If she didn't stop that, Eliot was going to throw her down onto the table, and damn anyone who wanted to watch.

Eliot escorted her up to her room, and as soon as the door closed, he shoved her up against it. "What do you think you were doing?" he asked. Ava blinked up at him in exaggerated innocence.

"What do you mean?" she asked. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"You know damned well what I'm talking about." He said. She smiled.

"Maybe I do. What are you going to do about it?" she teased.

"Ava… We've already had this conversation. Don't. Push it." He said. Ava laughed throatily.

"And I already told you, I like pushing my limits." She said. Eliot growled, and nipped sharply at her neck. Ava gasped, and shivered.

"If you're not careful, you're going to find out just how easy it is for my control to snap." He warned. He kissed her once, hard and fast. "I should go." He said.

"You're not going to stay?" she asked.

"I shouldn't." he said. He didn't elaborate, but he didn't have to. If he stayed, they'd wind up in bed, but they wouldn't be sleeping. Ava wanted to tell him to stay anyways, but the words got stuck in her throat. He turned and left without another word.

Ava sighed, and got ready for bed. She read, she listened to music, she talked to Pan, but nothing could get her mind off of Eliot and his addictive mouth. She'd been around him and his body for four days, she thought it was a wonder that she hadn't jumped him and ripped his clothes off after one day. And then when they'd finally admitted that they were attracted to each other. Ava shivered. She thought she deserved a medal of some kind for the self control she had. As a rule, she didn't sleep with someone that she hadn't known for less than a month. But considering the state that her body was in… she might have to make an exception.

Ava lied in her bed that night, and tossed and turned. Her skin felt too tight for her body, and she felt feverish despite the fact that she was wearing tiny shorts and a tank top. Under different circumstances, she would've thought she was ill, but she knew that wasn't the case. It was Eliot, and what the bloody man was doing to her body. She groaned, and clenched her thighs together, trying to relieve the ache there, to no avail. Her heart was racing as her mind ran away from her, conjuring images of all the heated kisses and scorching touches Eliot and her had shared. The images drove her mad, and her whole body ached with wanting for him.

She couldn't sleep. After spending one night with him next to her, she was, as they say, ruined for all others, although in this case all other ways to sleep. Pan had gotten sick of her tossing and turning, and had wandered off to most likely sleep in her mother's room. Ava moaned, slammed her hand down on the bed, and sat bolt upright. She pushed her heavy hair back from her face, and looked out the window.

The moon was half full tonight, and provided enough light to see in front of your feet, but not enough to see, for example, a person moving from the main house to the guest house. Ava's mind raced. The alarm was set up around the perimeter of the property, but that wouldn't keep her from moving around the grounds. After a few moments of deliberation, Ava's mind was set. She couldn't take this torture anymore. She had to be with him. Now. Ava slipped out of her room, still in nothing but her tank top and shorts, and moved silently through the house, and out the front door. She took off running across the lawn, her feet bare, her hair flying wildly behind her.

She hesitated at his door, but set her shoulders. She'd already made her decision, and she would follow through with it. She wanted this. She wanted him. More than she wanted to go on breathing. She tapped softly at his door. After a few moments, the door opened. There his stood in all his god like perfection, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. His hair was tossed, but his eyes were alert like he'd already been awake. He didn't say anything, just stared at her for a moment. So Ava spoke. "Eliot…" Her voice was quiet, and soft as silk. "Don't make me sleep alone tonight. Please…"

**Ending Note: **Yay Cliffy! Lol. Hey peoples! Thanks again to everyone who's read, faved, and reviewed my story! I really appreciate it! I hope you liked this chapter! I love you all! XD I love reviews. I really do. I really and truly do. If you give me a review, I'd really and truly love you too! And now I think I've turned into Dr. Seuss, so I'm going to stop now.


	7. Fallen Ch 7

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity. **

**Author's Note**: Ok, so basically… LOTS OF LEMONS SHALL COMMENSE. You have been warned. Lol. I hope you like this chapter! And to anyone whose worried that I won't be updating often…. don't be. This fanfic is pretty much my new obsession. I think about it ALL THE TIME. For real. Mostly in math class. I don't know why, but it's like math class hits, and I'm like "Oh, time to plan the next chapter of my fanfic." Lol. Wow, I'm hyper from lack of sleep, so I'm gonna go now. Lol. Bye!

**Fallen**

"_Eliot…" Her voice was quiet, and soft as silk. "Don't make me sleep alone tonight. Please…"_

How on earth was a man supposed to resist such a request? She was dressed in a stretchy black tank top and little purple shorts, her feet bare, her hair spilling wildly over trembling shoulders. Creamy skin glowed in the silver light of the moon, and sending her hair a flame. Her eyes were twin emeralds glowing with passion and pleading, pulling him helplessly in. Eliot resisted his own passion for a moment. He knew that she had hesitated in her room, though he didn't know why. Now all he knew was that she was here now, and her voice cast a spell and now he was hers. His decision was made in the space of a heartbeat.

He still said nothing, but opened the door wider, and moved aside so she could come in. She bit her lip, and moved silently forward. Eliot shifted and closed the door. They faced each other, and moved together in the blink of an eye. Ava gripped his shoulders and leapt up wrapped her mile long legs around his waist. Eliot's arms locked around her, holding onto her like she was his life line. He was beginning to think that she was. There were fearful moments when he wasn't near her that he felt lost, because he began to wonder what it would be like to live his life without her near. Those thoughts made him afraid, and the fear made him furious, and the fury drove him to be rougher with her than he should have been.

Ava felt like she was being eaten alive, bite by vicious bite. His mouth was urgent and rough on her, his fingers curled tightly in her hair, holding her to him, as if afraid she would change her mind and try to leave. Ava thought that as much chance as a blizzard in hell of happening. She returned his urgency with her own, her hands trying to touch any and all skin she could reach, her fingers flying over his arms, shoulders, and then fisting in his hair. He kissed her until she was drunk on his taste, and still she wanted more. She had to have more. That was the single thought in her mind. Over and over her mind, body, and heart were in harmony for once, and spoke in a single unified voice; more, more, and still more. She was never one to ignore her inner voices.

Ava tore her mouth from his and stared into his eyes. "Eliot. I need you. Now."

"Protection?" he asked, barely able to get the word out, his mind was so fogged with desire for her. She shook her head.

"We're covered. Now take me to bed, Eliot. Please." She might have said please, but it was much more demand than it was request. Her voice was strong, with a hint of something sharpening it. Her voice and the double edged blade of his own desire spurred him onward, and zapped the last of his control. He fixed his mouth to hers again, and began moving backward, and was lucky that there weren't any steps or furniture between him and his bed. When he sensed the edge of the bed, he broke their kiss again to do what he'd been fantasizing about and threw her forcibly to the bed. Ava's breath hissed out on a gasp, and her eyes dared him for more. He was never one to resist a dare. He joined her on the bed, already needing another dose of the drug that was her kiss. His hands slid up the tank top that she was wearing, and could have wept at the feel of warm, smooth skin beneath his finger tips. Her body trembled, and her fingers dug into the muscle of his shoulders. He shuddered, and spread her thighs with his knee, and put pressure against her core.

Ava cried out against his mouth, and arched up violently. "God! Eliot, please." She begged. He shuddered again, her voice sliding over him like silk. He gripped her shirt in his hands, and looked at her for permission. She nodded. He rent it in two. Her eyes widened, and still urged him on. He pulled her shorts off in one fluid motion, and tossed them aside. He looked at her. And time stopped. Suddenly the need that was pulsing through him like a river slowed, and the air seemed to thicken. Both of their bodies stilled, and all they could do was stare at each other.

Suddenly ever detail snapped into focus through both of their passion fogged brains. The dark room was flooded with moonlight, providing erotic, romantic light for lovers. Eliot stared at her, lying there, completely exposed to him, and lost the ability to breathe or think easily. Her hair tumbled over his pillow, shimmering like water. Her eyes were soft and stunned, her mouth parted, and seemingly begging to be kissed. Her hands were by her head, leaving her vulnerable to his gaze. She was wearing black lace, and he wondered if that was on purpose. It was a sharp, sexy contrast to the milk white of her skin. Her hips flared out, her breasts were rounded and perfect, her waist a curving line between. Stunning.

With the fires banked for the moment, he slowly leaned down, and kissed her softly. She gave a little whimper of need, but found her arms were suddenly heavy, and couldn't find the energy to lift them. He was so gentle. So achingly gentle. How was she to resist this kind of kiss? It moved slowly through them both like liquid flame, all slow heat, and blinding golden light. She couldn't have fought him off if her life depended on it. The tenderness that his mouth and slowly caressing fingers gave her made her want to weep at the sweetness of the moment. And it that moment, with those blue eyes open and aware on hers, she fell. She leapt helplessly off that cliff, and found herself falling through open air. Her body, mind, and heart wept. How could she have ever mistaken anything other than this for love. The tenderness here, the careful sweetness, and complete adoration that she felt in that single moment couldn't have been anything but love. She hadn't known it could be like this. She'd known that it could be giddy and fun, as she'd seen so many of her friends take the leap. She'd known it could be bittersweet and sharply cool, as she'd seen from her parents. But she hadn't known it could be like this. This aching, aching sweetness that made her want to weep desperately.

Her eyes closed tightly, and Eliot pulled away. He whispered her name, and her body trembled, and she made a soft sound of distress. He called to her again, and she kissed him. She poured her soul into the kiss, and Eliot felt staggered. He hadn't known that you could feel so much from one kiss. He felt like he was underwater, struggling desperately to get to the surface, only to be ripped under by the undertow. His body tightened at the realization of what the sensation likely was. Love. He had the sudden urge to scream in frustration. He should never have done this to her. Women like her deserve men a thousand times better than him. He shouldn't do this to her. But he didn't think he could stop. But he had to try.

Eliot started to pull away, and speak. "Ava, I…" She shook her head sharply.

"No. Stop. Don't. It's just us. Nothing but us. Nothing but this. Please." The quiet desperation in her voice pulled him helplessly under again. She kissed him, her hands running up his back with renewed urgency. He could only follow where she lead him. The fire leapt higher in his blood, and an answering heat rushed through Ava's core. He once again applied pressure to her with his knee, this time more ruthlessly. She cried out, and tightened around him. His mouth broke from hers to race over her throat. He scraped his teeth over her skin, and she gave a shuddering moan that had him fighting desperately for what little control that he had left.

Ava's nails were sharp pricks of pain in his skin, but her barely noticed. His hands tightened on her flesh, were there would be bruises later. He reared up suddenly, and ripped the pretty lacy underwear out of his way. He tossed aside the tiny scraps of lace, and started to slowly burn alive under the heat of Ava's gaze. He dipped his head slowly, and took her breast into his mouth. She arched violently, and dug her fingers into his hair. He tortured her with teeth, lips, and tongue until she was writhing violently beneath him, her breath tearing from her lungs. His hand sneaked down the soft skin of her stomach, and cupped the auburn curls of her mound. She arched up and gasped, stunned as she reached that first velvety peak.

After she recovered, something seemed to snap inside her, and she hooked her leg over his hip, and rolled so that she was on top. She took a moment to look at him, and devour him greedily with her eyes. Tan skin gleaming with sweat, hard ridges of shuddering muscles, and the smooth expanse of skin marred here and there with scars. They were both fighters, but the sole different between them was the scars, and what they represented. He'd seen battles. She hadn't. She bent her head, and trailed her tongue over a scar the sliced across his chest. He moaned, and gripped her hips roughly. The rough sound caused a fresh rush of molten heat in Ava's core, and she brushed her mound against the hard length of him. She nearly growled at the feel of his boxers getting in her way. Those had to go. Now.

Ava pulled back, and grinned wickedly. She pulled off the offending clothing, and kept her eyes fixed on his. Something shifted in Eliot's eyes, and the look there was half wild, and feral. Her flipped her over so he was on top again, and kissed her roughly, using his teeth to make a point. She tried to touch him, but his hands gripped both her wrists, and pinned them above her head. "Next time." He said roughly. He pulled back, and stared into her eyes for a moment. She arched her hips pleadingly.

"Please. Now." She whispered. He didn't need telling twice.

"Hold on tight, sweetheart." he said. And then he drove himself into her in one smooth thrust.

Both of them froze, and held their breath. Then they began to move together, creating a flawless perfect rhythm. They were both panting, both their hearts were racing, both of them burning from the scorching heat they created between them. Ava felt herself stretch near to the point of pain, but her over stimulated body only registered pleasure. She began murmuring to him in Gaelic. Irish endearment and words of love tripped off her tongue, dripped from her lips, until one phrase began to be repeated over and over. _"____**A **____**ghra**____**... A **____**amhain**__**."**_ My love. My only. Eliot's grip on her hands loosened, and then he let her go, and her hands moved to his shoulders, and gripped desperately. As the fire leapt desperately higher, their pants became moans, and Ava dragged her nails down his back. He hissed as a dark kind of pleasure born from the mild pain thrummed through them. They pace increased, as they drove each other ruthlessly high, faster, deeper. Suddenly Ava's muscles tightened, and her body arched up. She tightened around him, and then screamed his name as she reached a second glorious peak. This time Eliot came with her, gritting his teeth against a shout of his own, and buried his face in the glorious mass of curls that surrounded her head.

They collapsed in his bed, and Eliot knew he'd have to move or he'd suffocate her. His arms trembled lightly with the effort it was taking him to hold most of his weight off her. He gingerly rolled, bringing Ava with him, and draping her over his chest. He couldn't tell, but tears dripped down her cheeks. It had been perfect. So different from anything she'd ever experienced, but so terrifyingly right. She wondered what she was going to do when he left her. It was no longer a question of if. Only of when. She didn't know why, but there was clearly something that he knew about that would take him from her, and it was something he didn't think he could stop. Ava had know that for a while now, but the difference was that now he could hurt her. He was the only one who had enough of her heart to break it.

His hands stroked slowly up her back, and Ava pushed all the painful thoughts from her mind, determined to follow his example and enjoy the now, while it lasted. She rubbed her cheek against his chest, and made a low purring sound in her throat. He made an answering noise, and she smiled. He was still buried deep inside her, and was unwilling to do anything about it. Ava thought that now that she knew what it felt like to have him fill her, she'd never feel complete again without him.

Ava's lips brushed over his chest, and he shuddered. "God you kill me." he said. Ava chuckled, her lips vibrating against him.

"Same goes." she said. He groaned.

"I should move." he said. She sighed.

"Here, let me." she said. She supported her weight on her arms, and gingerly lifted herself up, wincing a little bit as she did.

"Sore?" he asked. There was no male smugness in his voice, only concern for her. Though she suspected that lack of smugness wouldn't last long. She shrugged.

"A bit. But that's to be expected. It's been a while." she said. Eliot smirked. Ah, there it is. Ava thought to herself.

"I'm flattered then." he said. Ava rolled her eyes.

"No you're not. You're smug." she said.

"Of course." was his reply. She laughed, and rolled her shoulders. She glanced around, and then slipped from the bed.

Eliot sat up, and felt a fresh punch of lust as he watched her walk away stark naked. "Where are you going?" he asked. She tossed a smile over her shoulder.

"To shower. You're welcome to join me… if you're up to it." she said. Eliot grinned. Who was he to refuse a challenge from such a tempting woman?

He followed her into the bathroom, and joined her under the how spray. She smiled, and they spent the next half an hour loving each other under the hot spray of water. He'd squeezed a bit of body wash onto his hands, and had run soap slicked fingers over her body, not missing an inch of her. He'd touched her cleverly, deeply, and made her come twice before she even got the chance to touch him. She'd given just as much as she'd taken though, but Eliot had lost his control quickly, and had ended up lifting her up, her legs locking around his waist, and plunged into her with her back braced against the tile of the shower.

While drying herself off, Ava hummed happily to herself. Suddenly her arm was gripped, and she turned to see Eliot wearing a look of horror on his face. "What?" she demanded, immediately concerned. He pulled her closer, and turned her arm over so that the underside of her wrist was exposed. There were dusky bruises there, from when Eliot had pinned her arms above her head. He inspected every inch of her skin, and found more bruises along her waist and hips. There was such deep self loathing and disgust on his face, that Ava hurried to soothe him.

She cupped his face in her hands. "I did that to you. I hurt you." he said, his voice rough.

"Yes, you left marks on me." she said, not bothering to give him false words. "But I don't care. I wanted this, Eliot. Never, ever forget that I wanted this. I still do. I want you, more than I've ever wanted anything else in the world. The bruises… they don't hurt." she murmured. He shook his head. "And besides, I like that you lost control. I like that I can do that to you." she said. "And I left marks of my own on you." she said, tracing her fingertips down the angry red welts that her nails had left on his back.

"That's different." he said.

"No, it's not. So stop hating yourself. Because I plan on doing it all over again, in the very, very near future." she said. Eliot's eyes flashed with heat, and she knew that he'd forgiven himself for now.

The next morning, Ava woke up, still naked, snuggled up to a similarly naked Eliot. She smiled, thinking that there was no better way to wake. She sat up, and stretched only to be pulled back down to bed. She squeaked, and giggled as Eliot kissed a line down her neck. "Eliot, we can't stay here all day." she said.

"Why not?" he demanded.

"Because…" she lost her train of thought when he sucked on a spot on the back of her neck that made her body spasm in pleasure. "Uh… because, because my father's home." she said. Eliot sighed.

"I guess you're right." he mumbled. She smiled, amused.

"Of course I am. But there's one problem." she said, shifting to face him.

"What's that?" he asked. She looked over on the floor, and his gaze followed.

"You destroyed all my clothing." she said. They stared at the shredded fabric that had been her pajamas, and thought.

"I guess you'll have to borrow something." he said. The idea of Ava wearing his clothing with no underwear was almost more erotic than Eliot could bear.

"Thanks." she said happily. Eliot got up, pulled on fresh boxers and sweats, then a tee shirt, and hunted up something for Ava to wear. He found a fresh tee shirt and boxers for her to wear, and handed them to her. She pulled on the boxers, but shook her head at the tee shirt. "No, I want the one from yesterday." she said. Eliot frowned in confusion.

"Why?"

"Just give it to me." she said. He shrugged, and gave it to her. She tugged it on, pressed her nose to the fabric and inhaled deeply. It hung over her much smaller frame, and made her look deliciously small. "It smells like you." she murmured. "I want something of you to sleep in, for on the rare occasion you don't sleep with me." she said. Eliot groaned, and had no choice but to kiss her.

Ava left Eliot's guest house ten minutes later, at seven, just after the sun had risen. The staff usually got up at seven thirty and had breakfast at eight thirty, so Ava figured she was safe. She was however, wrong. She walked in the back door of the main house, which lead into the kitchen. She was smiling, but it fell from her mouth when she spotted Cal sitting at the dining room table, calmly sipping his coffee. Ava's heart stopped in her chest, and her eyes widened. He looked at her evenly, and she tugged at the hem of Eliot's shirt, and wished viciously for a big hole to appear and swallow her. She could have faced anyone else on the staff and intimidated them into silence. Even dealing with her mother would have been manageable, because her mother was a hopeless romantic. But Cal had always been like a father to her, and she felt like the naughty teen sneaking in after a night of foolishness.

Cal stared evenly into her eyes, but she lowered her gaze and flushed. "Please say something." she whispered.

"What would you like me to say?" he asked. His tone was indifferent, and cold, and made her wince. He'd never talked to her like that unless she'd really messed up.

"I don't know. What you feel?" she hedged.

"Disappointed." he said bluntly. Ava's cheeks flamed even more, but so did her temper.

"What's your problem Cal? I'm a grown woman." she said.

"Which is exactly why you should know better." he said. Ava narrowed her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"Eliot isn't the kind of man that you should be in a relationship with." he said. Ava's temper flared violently.

"What the hell do you know about him, huh? Have you spent the last five days with him? No! I have! And I think I know a hell of a lot more about him than you do. He'd honest, he's kind, and he cares about me. Which, let me tell you, is a really nice feeling. One that I haven't felt from anyone other than you and my mother in a long time." she said. Cal's face softened a little.

"Oh, _mavourneen_. You're in love aren't you?" he asked. Ava's mouth trembled, and her eyes filled with tears. He stood, and pulled her into a hug. She curled up there, but didn't cry. Cal sighed. "Why must you make things so difficult?" he asked. Ava laughed a little.

"Because I'm me." she said. Cal smiled.

"That's god's truth." he said with another sigh. He pulled back so that he could look into her face. "So you love him." he said. She nodded. "Does he love you back?" he asked. Ava bit her lip, and looked down.

"I don't know." she said. Cal nodded.

"You won't until you ask." he said. Ava sighed.

"It's complicated." she said.

"Love almost always is." he said evenly. Ava frowned.

"I guess so. I need time." she said, vaguely. "I need more time."

"Time is something I can give you. I'll not breathe a word of this to anyone. But I suggest if you're going to spend the nights out of your bed, that you leave a few things there, so you're at least dressed properly for the walk of shame." he said, looking at her disapprovingly. Ava smiled sheepishly, and then blushed when she remembered why she wasn't dressed properly.

"Right. Well, I'll go do that now." she said. She kissed his cheek. "I really appreciate this Cal. I owe you." she said. He smiled.

"Yeah, you do." She smiled, and then paused.

"So what do you think?" she asked.

"Of what?"

"Of Eliot." she asked. Cal considered.

"I think he's a good man. And I think he'll treat you right." he said.

"Then why did you say he wasn't the kind of man I should be involved with?" she asked. Cal frowned.

"Because he's like me. And men like me are never men you should get involved with. But I don't think that being like me makes him a bad person. Just one with a dark past. And that could complicate things." he said. Ava frowned.

"Being like you isn't a bad thing." Ava said. Cal shrugged, and her frown deepened. "It's not!" she insisted. "You're the only father that I've ever really had." she said. Her eyes filled with tears again, and her voice was rough when she spoke. "I love you, Cal." she said. His eyes shone with wetness as well, and he pulled her into a tight hug.

"I love you too, _mavourneen_." he said. He pulled away. "No go on with you, before somebody sees you." he said. Ava nodded, and headed up to her room.

Over the next few weeks, Eliot and Ava spent every last moment that they could together. When they weren't together, it was because Ava was with her mother, or Eliot was working for her father. There were two important incidents that occurred, one with Ava, and one with Eliot.

One morning after making love and then falling asleep, Ava had been lying in Eliot's bed. He'd watched her sleep for a while, but then he'd had to wake her before the main house woke up. He'd touched her shoulder, and gently shook her. "Ava, Ava it's time to wake up." He'd called. She'd made a noise of confusion. "Ava it's time to wake up, you need to go back." he said softly. Her face had twisted into a mask of pain, and fear, her eyes still closed.

"No. No, don't make me go back." she'd whimpered. The terror in her voice had clawed at Eliot's gut.

"Ava what's wrong?" he demanded, his voice sharp.

"Please… don't make me go back." she cried.

"Why? Ava, tell me why." he said.

"He's there." she whispered, and Eliot's heart had stopped dead in his chest.

"Who's there? Ava, tell me!" he demanded, though he already had an idea.

"Please. It's so dark there. He's not right. He's bad… very bad. Cold in his eyes." she'd rambled, beginning to toss and turn. That had been enough for Eliot.

He gripped her shoulders, and shook hard. "Ava!" he shouted. She come awake with a start, her eyes wide with fear. He'd held her to him for nearly ten minutes before she'd stopped trembling. Afterwards, she'd refused to speak of it. Brushing it off as a bad dream, when they both knew that she was lying. But he let it drop… for now.

The second incident had come three weeks after Eliot had started working for O'Conner. O'Conner had started Eliot out small, doing an odd job here and there when someone else could look after Ava. And then he'd asked him to take things to the next level. He'd taken him out on a job with the core team. Nate and the team had been excited, but nervous, as Eliot had been. It was a big step, but they had no idea what to expect. Eliot had gone out with them, and four hours later when he returned, he was different.

He'd walked into Ava's room, and closed and locked the door. When she looked up at him, she saw something in his eyes that hadn't been there before. Something dark, that scared the living shit out of her. "Eliot? What's wrong?" she asked. He'd shaken his head, and stepped towards her. He pulled her into his arms, and sat there silently, just holding her. "Eliot? What happened?" she asked.

"I can't…" he whispered roughly. "I can't tell you. Please, just be here with me for a moment." he said.

"Okay." Ava agreed, and sat there with him for an hour.

Eliot had seen things in those four hours that he hadn't seen the likes of in years. The amount of evil in the man that was Ava's father was honest to goodness terrifying to Eliot, and very few things scared him. He could honestly say that Bryan O'Conner was the second most evil, psychotic man that he'd ever met in his life. And he'd met a lot of evil psychotic men. He decided on that day that no matter what happened with the con, Bryan would not be allowed to continue to exist. Whether he got handed over to the cops to be put in a maximum security cell for the rest of his life, or whether Eliot had to take him out himself, Bryan O'Conner, would never see the light of day again once he was through with him. And as long as Eliot was still breathing, O'Conner would never, ever, lay so much as a finger on Ava.

As the weeks passed by, Eliot and Ava both fell deeper and deeper into love. They didn't tell each other, but with each passing moment, it became harder and harder not to. Eliot found that it was becoming harder and harder to stay in character as Eliot Wolf, and not slip back into being who he really was, Eliot Spencer. He wanted so much to tell her who he was. He wanted desperately for her to know him, and still care about him after knowing the truth. But he also wished that the wasn't Eliot Spencer either. Sometimes he just wished her was a normal guy, in a normal relationship with a woman that he loved, and love him back. He wished that Ava wasn't the daughter of a mark, and he wasn't the one that would tear her family apart. But he knew that wishing didn't get anyone anywhere. All it led to was heartache.

Eliot started thinking dangerous thoughts. He started thinking about the end. About what he would tell Ava once the con was over. There were two explanations that he had to have prepared. One for if they made it out of the con with their cover intact, and one if they didn't. He wasn't sure which outcome he was hoping for. If they made it out clean, Ava would never have to know that he was the one that had broken up her family, and she'd never have to know that he'd lied to her for over a month. But he'd also have no choice but to leave her. But if their cover got blown, then Ava would know. She'd know that he had used her, and lied to her, and had generally been a terrible excuse for a human being. She'd know that he had betrayed her in the most basic sense of the word. But there was also the small, slight nearly impossible chance that if she could move past all that, that he could take her with him. Take her back to Boston, where he could keep her safe. Where he could continue to love her. He wasn't sure how that would work, either way. But thinking about it was tying him up in knots.

Ava wasn't oblivious to his attitude either. No matter how much they tried to tell themselves not to think about the end, to not let things get too heavy, they did. Ava was worried about her mother, whose health was slowly but surely declining. And she also worried because she knew that Eliot was worrying. She'd gotten to know him so completely that she could read almost every expression and movement that he made. And she knew that something was going on inside his head that made him worry more than ever. She wondered if he was planning on leaving. If he had another obligation somewhere that had put the time limit on his job. She wondered what would happen if he left.

Ava's father was under the false impression that Ava had mellowed out, and had given her a lot more freedom. The problem was, it wasn't that Ava had mellowed out. It was just that she had no excuse to fight to leave anymore. She had her mother and Eliot in the Hamptons, and Eliot gave her all the freedom he could, so Ava simply no longer saw the point in trying to leave. But if Eliot left, Ava wondered if her father would get her another guard. She supposed that it depended on when he left. If he left before her mother died, she might get another guard, though he'd be useless. Ava had discovered that she was spoiled now for all other guards but Cal and Eliot. If he left after, then it would be a moot point, because Ava would be long gone.

Ava didn't like the fact that Eliot wouldn't talk to her about what was bothering him, but she respected it. She couldn't say that she did the same, though. She talked to him about everything. And because of that, and how well he listened, she figured that by the end of the month, Eliot probably knew her better than she knew herself. And she was probably right, because when it came to Ava, Eliot didn't miss a single detail, no matter how small.

After the month had passed, dooms day finally came. Eliot got a call from Nate, telling him that he needed him to come to the team's shared house for a meeting. Eliot agreed, his heart pounding in his ears. He'd asked for a day off, and was granted it. He told Ava that he was helping out a friend, and, god bless her soul, she didn't pry. Eliot drove to the house with a heavy heart, and a swirling mind. He didn't want to do this, but he had no choice really.

When he got to the house, everyone was there, waiting. He'd come back about once a week, but he found that he still missed the team a little bit. Hardison was still annoying, but Eliot found he didn't mind so much. Parker was still hyper and crazy, but he found that he accepted it as just a part of who she was. And Sophie was just as strong, and understanding as ever. And Nate of course, was Nate. Their fearless leader, and the master mind of the team. He was the first to speak after Eliot had said his hellos to the team.

"So, you're month is up." he said. Eliot nodded. "You've gotten some great in tell, and I've had plenty of time to come up with a con. I've got some good news, and I've got some bad news. Which do you want first?" Nate asked.

"Good news." he said. Nate nodded.

"Alright. We won't be using your relationship with Ava as our in for the con." he said. Eliot relaxed, and smiled broadly.

"Thanks Nate. I really appreciate this." he said.

"Don't thank me until I tell you the bad news." he said.

"Okay. Give it to me." he said.

"We're going to have to use Ava as bait."

**Ending Note: **YAY! Another cliffy! Lol. Whew! Whatta work out! It's one o'clock in the morning now, and I'm finally finished with this chapter! I don't know why, but I just had to get it done tonight. Don't ask me why. I could have done it tomorrow, but now. Me and my stupid self had to get it done tonight. At one in the morning. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! And thanks so much again to everybody whose reviewed! I love you guys so much, it's not even funny. Lol. More reviews are always welcome. :D P.S, mavourneen means sweetheart in Gaelic, A ghra means my love, and A amhain means my only. Just so ya know. Lol. SO HYPER! Going to sleep now. XP


	8. Betrayal Ch 8

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity. **

**Author's Note**: I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I LOVE THE PEOPLE ON THIS SITE! XD Big thanks especially to Trapper Creek Kaniac, saides, and Socialoutcastwinneroftheyear, who have reviews pretty much every chapter I've written for this story. You guys rock my socks off! XD Anyways, I hope you all like this chapter! :D BEWARE! LEMONS!

**Betrayal**

Eliot was silent for a moment, and he felt nothing for a brief second. "You want to run that by me again?" he asked.

"We need Ava. She's going to be our bait." Nate repeated grimly, knowing that Eliot was going to want to kill him. He'd been watching him closely over the past month, and he knew that Eliot was honestly in love with the girl. Sure enough, Eliot stood, and positively vibrated with rage.

"WHAT?" he roared. "Nate you can't do this! I won't let you put her in harm's way!" he shouted furiously.

"Are you going to let me explain the plan?" Nate asked. Eliot clenched his jaw, and fought for the control he'd worked so hard to hone over his career. "Do you remember the man that approached you and Ava at club Phoenix?" Nate asked.

"Yeah. Some punk that said he knew Ava's dad." he said.

"Well turns out that he's part of an organized crime ring in New York. One of the worker bees. They're not affiliated with mob or a gang, but that doesn't mean that they aren't trouble." Nate said.

"What does that have to do with Ava?" Eliot asked.

"Because her father has had dealings with them in the past. O'Conner has a lot of power in the shady parts of New York, and wants to keep it that way. When this group started getting a little more pull than he was comfortable with, he knocked down a couple notches. Not enough to get them out of the game, but enough that they weren't even in the same zip code as the top of the food chain. Obviously they're not too happy about that, but there isn't much that they can do about it. Unless…"

"Unless they had Ava." Eliot finished. Nate nodded. "So, what? You want me to hand her over on a silver fucking platter?" Eliot snarled.

"Sort of." Nate hedged. "I want you to hand her over to them, but go with her." Nate said. Eliot's eyes narrowed. "Think about it. You get in touch with these people. Make them a deal for O'Conner's daughter. And trust me, they'll jump at the deal, and offer you anything to make it happen. You bring her into the city, but make sure that you're with her every step of the way, protect her. They'll ransom her, for a lot of money. O'Conner will be forced to pull the money from the shady accounts that Hardison found." Hardison gave a little bow. "O'Conner will bring the money to where Ava's being held, and we will be waiting. We'll take a portion of the money for our client and then hand both O'Conner and the others over to the cops."

"Wrapped in a pretty little bow." Sophie said in a satisfied tone. Eliot considered. It would keep Ava safe, because Eliot would kill every last man how even thought about touching her. But the way that Nate had set it up would mean making Ava think that he'd betrayed her. Make her think that he'd used her in the worst possible way, and then handed her over to the very people he'd been hired to protect her from. He would have to make her hate him. And then, when the job was done, he would have to tell her the truth about himself.

Nate could see where Eliot's mind was going. "You know there's no other way, Eliot. You'll keep her safe this way. And you'll…" he paused. "We'll," he corrected. "We'll get out with a clean break. You understand?" he asked. Eliot understood perfectly. Nate was providing him, providing Ava, with a clean break. She'd hate him, and never forgive him. So there'd be no worries about him trying to come up with a lie that would probably hurt her more than the truth, because she'd know it was a lie. This way, she'd know why he was leaving her, and know it wasn't her fault. But there was something else that Eliot knew was right about this plan. He'd begun struggling with something since the first time he'd made love with Ava. He wasn't who she thought he was. He was dangerous to her. His lifestyle was dangerous to her. If she hated him, he could leave her. With no worry that he'd see her again; with no worry that people from his past could ever find her or hurt her.

Eliot knew what he had to do. Even if he'd rather cut off one of his hands before doing it. He'd have to hurt her. Painfully, and irrevocably. "Alright. I'll do it." he said. Nate nodded.

"Good. We've got everything planned. We'll put the plan into action tomorrow." Nate said. Eliot winced, and felt that first crack fissure through his heart. Tomorrow. He had one day left with her. One day to try and make up for everything that he would be doing to her. Eliot took a deep breath, and gathered up every emotion and mental defense he had, and wrapped it around himself. Then he nodded.

"Alright. Tell me the plan." he said, his voice rougher than usual.

After the plan had been laid out for him, and they'd worked out all the kinks and Eliot ran out of questions to ask, he knew the plan. The plan was pretty much burned into his mind. The unfortunate part was, he could not only imagine exactly how the plan would go down, which was actually pretty smooth, he could also imagine Ava's reaction. When he would take her to the very people that wanted to use her, she'd be confused at first. Then when realization hit, she'd be furious. Both at him and at herself. Then she would grieve. For what they'd had, and for what they could've had. Then she'd retreat into herself. That would be the worst part. Eliot thought that he could handle the anger, even the tears, but that horrible blankness would kill him. He'd only seen it once before, and it had scared him spitless. That terrifying emptiness that would fill her eyes, blank her face. He hated that look more than anything.

Eliot walked slowly outside to the balcony, and tried to rebuild the shield that had taken hit after hit talking about the hell that he was going to put Ava through. When he'd told himself that it had just been for now, he could tell himself that their parting would be painless. When he'd admitted to himself that he was in love with her, he'd selfishly pushed it out of his mind, desperate to spend as much time with her as possible without worrying about leaving her. But now he was forced to face the reality. He was going to leave her. And he wasn't sure who it would hurt more. Him, or her.

Standing outside, in the balmy night air, Eliot tried to hold it together. Sophie found him that way, his hands braced on the railing, leaning his weight into his arms, his head bowed. She sighed lightly, knowing his pain would be sharp and heavy on his heart. She knew how it felt to fall for the wrong person. She knew it all too well. She made sure she made noise walking up behind him, not wanting to startle him. She saw him tense, and knew that he knew she was there. She put a hand lightly on his shoulder, and stood silently next to him. He didn't shrug her off, and she saw him grimace, as if her hand was another just another weight on his shoulders. Her heart wept for his.

After a few moments, Eliot spoke. "What am I supposed to do?" he whispered. Sophie was silent for a moment.

"You already know what you're going to do, don't you?" she asked gently. He nodded. "Then there's not much more I can tell you." she said, trying to hold herself together. She was an easy weeper, especially when it came to romance, and especially when it came to someone else's romance. "Except…" Eliot's head lifted, and he stared at her.

"Except what?" he asked.

"Give her a piece of yourself, Eliot. Something that she will always remember something that she'll never let go. Give her something that shows her she loves you. After all this is done, she'll still have that. If she comes back to you, then it was meant to be." she said.

"And if she doesn't?" he asked. Sophie smiled a little.

"I'm betting she will." she said. She turned and walked back in the house, leaving him with his thoughts.

Eliot thought it was a pretty good idea. He could give her something that was special to him, something he knew she would treasure. And pray that when he left, that it would remind her of him, and that maybe, just maybe one day it would bring her back to him. The plan wouldn't be put into action until tomorrow night, and he could spend the whole day trying to make her feel as loved as any woman could be.

His mind made up, he said goodbye to the team, and got in his car and left. It was night already, and he knew that Ava would be worried about him. But not obsessively so. That was one of the things about Ava. She had just the right amount of everything in her personality. Sure enough, when he pulled out the cell phone that he used at O'Conner's, there was only one text message. No phone calls, no voice mails. Eliot smiled when he read it.

_Worried about you. Hope you're okay. Miss you. Ava. _

It was so classically Ava, he nearly laughed. He sent her back a text.

_I'm okay. Sorry I worried you. On my way home. Eliot. _

He nearly erased the 'home' part, but then left it. It was true. He was on his way home. Ava had become the only true home he'd ever known.

When he got back to the estate, he stopped at the guard station and punched in the codes that O'Conner had only recently given him. Apparently he had a deactivation and reactivation code for the perimeter alarm that only his trusted employees had, for whatever reason they may have to leave during the night. He pulled the car into the driveway at the guest house, but went into the main house. He slipped in quietly, and made a straight line to Ava's room. She hadn't left a light burning, but she had waited up for him. He knew she was awake in her bed the moment he stepped into the room. She sat up in her bed, and smiled at him. Like always it hit him like a punch in the chest.

"Hey." she whispered. "You're back." Eliot said nothing, just crossed to her, and touched her face lightly. He closed his eyes, and let his fingertip trace her face, trying to memorize every line. "Eliot?" she asked cautiously. He opened his eyes, and still said nothing. He just lifted her into his arms, and carried her out of the room. He couldn't explain why, but he didn't want to spend the last night they had together in that house. He wanted her in his bed.

She said nothing, only wrapped her arms around his neck, and settled into his embrace easily. He carried her all the way outside, and then into the guest house. He closed the door with his foot, and then finally carried her over to his bed. He set her down like she was made of glass, and was indeed terrified that she might simply shatter in his arms like his most desired dream. She looked up at him steadily with those green faerie eyes, and cupped his face in her hands. He loved how she could speak volumes with those eyes, and seemed to understand just what he needed without even asking.

She kissed him, gentle and sweet. Their mouths met, and moved together slowly, like they had all the time in the world to savor each other. His hands journeyed over her in much the same way, rough palms and smooth fingertips caressing every curve, memorizing every texture, rediscovering each of her secrets until she was as pliant as wax in his arms. All she could do in defense of this unexpected tenderness was hold on tight. His mouth moved from hers, moving over her face, taking slow, drugging tastes of her skin until he was intoxicated with her essence. He made no move to undress her, but Ava was going quietly mad at how little skin was exposed between the two of them. She murmured to him in Gaelic, as she was prone to when they made love, and slipped her hands under his shirt.

He shuddered, but still kept the pace slow and tender. Needed to. He let her strip off his shirt, and then slowly returned the favor, making a trail of feather light kisses up her stomach and torso as he did. She gave a shuddering moan, and wondered as her mind fogged and her limbs grew heavy at the power that he had over her. He could seduce her with a look; stir her with the simplest of touches. Her hands gripped his shoulders, and tried to anchor herself to something solid while her world spun in slow, dizzying circles.

Eliot continued to pleasure her, and himself, slowly; maddeningly slowly. When he finally did slip inside her, Ava moan sobbed out of her. Tears spilled over her cheeks. Never had she ever felt so loved. They moved together, in perfect harmony, a perfect match. When he could feel her getting close to that first stunning peak, he spoke. "Ava…" her eyes opened slowly, like it took her great effort. "Ava look at me." he said. She did. "I love you." he said huskily. Her eyes widened, the filled with grief, and she shook her head. Desperation filled him. He had to make her believe him. He had to.

"Ava. Look at me!" he demanded, as her eyes had closed. "Ava, I love you. I love you." he repeated. He thrust harder, and Ava cried out. "I love you Ava. Do you believe me?" he growled. Her hands gripped his shoulders tightly, and her hips moved to meet his demands.

"Yes… I believe you." she whispered.

"Do you love me?" he demanded. Her breathed sobbed out of her.

"Yes! I love you… _A __ghra_… _A __amhain_." she whispered. They came together then, holding on desperately to each other as their universe splintered into a million pieces.

Afterwards, he still held onto her tightly, and she lay curled into his chest, her cheek resting against his heart beat. "Eliot?" she murmured. He rubbed his cheek against her hair.

"Hmm?" Ava bit her lip, terrified to ask, and even more terrified the answer would be no.

"Did you mean it?" she whispered. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and she prayed his answer would be yes. His hand gripped her chin lightly, but firmly, and lifted her face so that she was cored to look at him.

"I don't say things I don't mean." he murmured. Ava's eyes lit with hope, and Eliot felt his heart contract.

"Then would you mind saying it again? Now that I'm more focused?" she said. Eliot smiled, and kissed her lightly.

"I love you, Ava. More than anyone, or anything else in the world." he murmured. Her breathed shuddered out.

"God… I love you too. So much. Too much." she whispered.

"No such thing." he said. She laughed a little.

"_A __ghra__… A __amhain_." she repeated her earlier words, smiling.

"What's it mean?" he asked. Her smile widened.

"My love." she kissed him. "My only." she kissed him again, and then rested her head back against his chest. He breathed her in, and captured the moment in his mind. He was desperately afraid that this would be one of their last, and he wanted to make sure it was burned in his memory forever.

The next morning, Ava woke up feeling ridiculously giddy. Eliot was in love with her. Eliot Wolf was in love with Ava O'Conner. Those words filled her mind again and again, and made her feel a little tingly. She laughed quietly, and sat up in bed. She looked around, and gave a satisfied breath. It was really too bad that she had to keep their relationship a secret from her father. Otherwise she could just move in here, and be the happiest woman on the face of the earth. But this would do for now. And she wasn't even going to think about the future. She didn't want to spoil the moment. She would just take this day, and let it be theirs. They could worry about the hard stuff later.

Ava rolled her shoulders, and stretched. She knew the instant that Eliot's eyes were on her, because she could swear that she felt the heat along the length of her spine. She turned her head, and saw him staring at her. She smiled. "Feeling rowdy this morning?" she asked playfully. He grinned, and made a grab for her. She shot out of bed, and danced away from him. "Sorry boy'o. I've got to get dressed." she said. Eliot groaned, and fell back onto the bed. She laughed, and pulled what she liked to think of as her 'care package' out from underneath the bed. It had a fresh pair of clothes, hairbrush, toothbrush, and shoes.

She got dressed, and went through her morning routine in the bathroom, and found Eliot in the kitchen, making breakfast. Ava inhaled deeply, and her eyes widened at the beautiful sight before her. "Oh my god!" she whispered reverently. "Waffles!" Eliot laughed.

"Hungry?" he asked, holding out a plate to her. They smelled like cake, and were topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

"You are a god." she said, and sat down at the little table. Eliot just shook his head, and sat down with his own plate.

After eating in companionable silence, Eliot spoke. "So, I was thinking…" he started. Ava looked up, letting him know she was listening. "I was thinking we could go into the city today." he said. Ava frowned in confusion, and cocked her head.

"Why?" she asked. Eliot shrugged, and struggled with the lie that was caught in his throat. He forced it out with some effort.

"I need to get out of the house. Starting to get restless." he said. "I know you are too, so I thought we could go see the city." he said. Ava smiled.

"That would be great. I have been getting a little cabin fever." she admitted. Eliot struggled to keep his smile light.

"Good. You want to ask or should I?" he asked. Ava sighed.

"I will. It doesn't really matter, but…" she shrugged. Eliot nodded.

"Okay. I'm going to get dressed, and I'll meet you at the car in fifteen." he said. Ava nodded.

"Sounds good." she said. She gave him a light kiss in parting, and headed to the guest house.

Most of the staff knew exactly what was going on between Ava and Eliot, but because they all loved Ava like family, and most had developed a fondness for Eliot, they kept their lips sealed tightly. Really the only one who was still in the dark was O'Conner himself. Because everyone knew that if he found out what his daughter was doing behind his back, there'd be hell to pay… for them all. So when Ava came in the back door in the kitchen, none of the staff so much as blinked. "Good morning everyone." she said cheerfully.

"Morning." they replied. Some with smiles, a few with winks. She smiled too, and then headed upstairs to her father's office. She knew he'd be there, awake, alert, and cold as ever.

She knocked once, a rarity for her. "Come in." he said. She walked in, and his eyes glanced up in surprise. "Ava, what a nice surprise. What is it?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"I'm planning on going into the city today to do some shopping. Eliot will be coming with me, so don't get your knickers in a twist." she said as he opened his mouth to object. He relaxed.

"Alright. Be back before dinner, please." he said. Ava rolled her eyes. Like she'd really spend ALL day shopping. She wasn't suicidal. Plus, she didn't want to torture Eliot too much. She turned and left, and went to see her mother.

Helen had gotten worse in the past month. She was weaker, but comfortable, and happy. She took the pain meds easily enough, not wanting to be in pain for the last weeks of her life. When Ava wasn't with Eliot, she was with her mother. Helen urged her to spend more time with him, telling her that she should enjoy all the time she could. Ava tried, but it was hard when her mother was so close to leaving her. But Ava was forbidden to be sad, or so Helen said, so she did her best to put on a brave face.

Ava knocked, and opened the door. Helen sat up in bed, reading one of her beloved romance novels, that Ava enjoyed now and again as well. She looked up, and smiled. "Hello, Ava. How are you this morning?" she asked. Ava smiled.

"I'm wonderful. What about you? Did you take your pills?" she asked. Helen nodded, and waved it off.

"Yes, yes. Now, why are you so wonderful?" she asked. Ava grinned foolishly, and hoped Eliot wouldn't mind terribly much that she was going to spill her guts.

"I love him." she said. Helen smiled.

"Yes, but we knew that already." she said.

"And he loves me." she said. Helen's eyes widened, and then her whole face softened.

"Oh, darling." she murmured in Gaelic. She hugged her gently, and smiled. "I'm so happy for you." she said. Ava always loved how her mother's voice sounded in the language of their home.

"So am I." she replied. "He's so good for me." she said.

"Oh, I know. Be happy, my daughter." she said. Ava smiled.

"I am. Really happy." she said. Helen smiled.

"I'm glad." she said.

"I wanted to let you know that I'll be going into the city today, but I'll be back before dinner." she said. Helen nodded.

"Alright, dear. I'll be fine. Have fun." she said. Ava nodded.

"I will. I love you." she said.

"I love you too. Now go on, I'm just getting to the good part." Helen said, waving her off. Ava laughed, and headed off to her room to finish getting ready.

When she was fully armed with her purse and walking shoes, she was ready for a day in the city. She headed out and met Eliot at the car. He was leaning against it, wearing jeans, tee shirt, and leather jacket today for the city. To blend most likely. Ava smiled. He looked so sexy. "Ready to go?" she asked.

"I was waiting for you." he said. He opened the door for her, and she slid in. He got in on the other side, and adjusted a few things, then pulled out of the drive.

The drive was lovely. Ava got to be the DJ, but made sure the music was always something that they both enjoyed. Ava smiled, thinking that it was simple pleasure like this that made life amazing. She leaned back against her seat, and closed her eyes. She sang along with every line in every song. Eliot listened, and felt one more crack run through his heart. She was stunning, leaning back in the seat, her eyes closed, the sun shining brightly, setting her hair to flame. She looked peaceful… happy. Eliot bit back the urge to slam his hands on the wheel and shout in frustration. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that he should fall in love now; to fall for the one girl he couldn't, and absolutely shouldn't fall in love with. And it wasn't fair that they had so little time together.

They got to the city in under two hours, thanks to relatively light traffic. They opted to park in a parking garage, and walk, since it'd be infinitely faster and easier. And then they were off. They moved through the throngs of people, talking, laughing, holding hands. It was clear that Ava loved the city. Her eyes lit up as she watched the people that passed by, craned her neck to look at the top of buildings. She would point out all her favorite shops and restaurants, and Eliot would insist that she show him everything. He wanted to know this side of her, before it was too late. She would stop in front of shop windows, and chatter cheerfully to him about anything and everything.

At noon, Ava took him to the top of the Empire State building. It was insanely tall. Eliot didn't mind heights, but he couldn't deny that Ava made him nervous when she leaned excitedly against the protection bars to see the city better. Eliot made a mental note to tell Parker about this building. He thought she'd love the height and the vantage point above so many shops she could steal from. With Ava smiling brightly, looking out over the city below them, Eliot pulled her back flush against his chest. She settled into his embrace with a contented sigh, and they stayed that way for a long while. After the empire state building, they took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty. It was another stunning view, and another stolen moment with Ava.

When they got back to the city, Ava was making noises about being hungry. "Alright, what's your favorite restaurant?" he asked. Something flashed in her eyes, and she flushed.

"Oh, it's okay. Anywhere is fine." she said.

"No, I want to take you to your favorite." he said.

"Really, it's no big deal. It's way too fancy for lunch." she said. He just stared at her in that quiet, steady way of his, and she sighed. She named a restaurant, and Eliot smiled.

"Let's go." he said. Ava lead the way, and Eliot followed.

When they got to the restaurant, Ava flushed, and tugged at the hem of her tee shirt. She felt way under dressed. "Do you have reservation?" the maître de asked, smiling warmly at Eliot. Ava bit back the urge to shove her tongue down Eliot's throat and stake a claim.

"No." Eliot asked. "We need a table for two, for lunch." he said.

"I'm afraid without a reservation-" she started. Eliot put his hand over hers, and smiled winningly, while smoothly passing her a hundred dollar bill.

"I'm sure you can find something." he said. She slid the bill into the log book, and smiled.

"Of course. Right this way." she said.

Ava was stunned. She'd never seen anyone do that so smoothly. And that hadn't been a twenty he'd handed that overly friendly maître de. It had been a crisp hundred dollar bill. Ava shook her head. He was a wonder to behold. They were led to a table in the far left of the restaurant, near a window so they could see the bustle of the city, but still private and intimate. It was perfect. Ava ordered a single glass of wine, and Eliot got a beer in a glass. After skimming over the menu, Ava knew exactly what she wanted. A good stake sounded fabulous. When both Eliot and Ava ended up ordering the same thing, they smiled, and laughed. They talked easily over the meal, smiling and laughing often, and simply enjoying being together. It felt so good, to just be normal, even if it was for a short time.

When dessert came, Ava made exaggerated moans of pleasure while slowly savoring her chocolate mousse. Eliot smiled, and thought now was as good a time as any to give her what he had grimly begun to think of as his going away gift. He took a deep breath. "Ava?" he asked. She looked up at him. "I love you." Ava blinked, and her heart tripped. She smiled.

"I know. I love you too." she murmured, touching his hand.

"I brought you something." he said. Her face softened.

"You didn't have to buy me anything." she said.

"I didn't." he said. he reached into his pocket, and his hand closed around what rested there. He pulled it out, still clasped firmly in his fist. "My father, he ah, he was from Texas. Owned a ranch there. My mother was from New Orleans, she left Louisiana to be with him." he said. Ava had stilled, and was hanging on his every word. It was only the second thing that he had ever told her about his past.

"How'd you go from Texas to Kentucky?" she asked, remembering that that was where he'd met his first love. He shook his head.

"A long, unhappy story. It's not important." he said. He opened his palm, and held it out to Ava. "This belonged to my mother." he said. Ava's eyes filled as she delicately picked up the pretty silver locket on the long silver chain. It was a simple oval in sterling silver, with a fleur de lis on the front. Inscribed the back was a saying in French.

"_Avoir__ la __foi_. Have faith." she murmured. She looked back at him, and saw some emotion she couldn't decipher in his eyes. "You're giving this to me?" she asked. He nodded. Ava felt her heart swell, and thought it might burst from her chest. She could tell that this was important to him, and that he was giving to her, meant a great deal to her. "Thank you." she murmured. He held her hand up to his cheek, and held it there for a long time.

They left the restaurant together, Ava brushing her fingertips over the locket that fell just between her breasts. She swore an oath to herself that she would never take it off. "Where are we going next?" she asked. Eliot's expression closed off, and Ava frowned.

"There's somewhere I need to take you." he said. The way he said need, not want, made her worry.

"Okay." she said slowly. Something flashed in Eliot's eyes, and then it was gone. Ava's heart raced, but she couldn't say whether it was anticipation or real fear. That uncertainty alone was enough to worry her.

Eliot led Ava through the crowd, through the city, into an area Ava wasn't familiar with. He led her over to an empty brick building, on a slow street. "Eliot, what are we doing here?" Ava asked. Eliot gathered his strength.

"Just trust me." he said. And instantly hated himself when she relaxed and followed him inside the building. It was an empty Brownstone, a nice place, but in a less than pleasant part of town. Ava stepped inside, and didn't notice when Eliot closed and locked the door.

"It's a nice place." Ava said. "Is it yours?" she asked. She turned and faced him, and saw him standing in front of her, with the most sorrowful expression she'd ever seen. "Eliot? Eliot's what's wrong?" she asked.

"I want you to know, that no matter what happens, it was real. To me, it was all real." he said.

"Eliot, you're scaring me." she said. She saw a single tear roll down his face.

"God forgive me." he said.

He moved quickly. So quickly she never had a chance. He pressed the chloroform cloth over her mouth, and held her tightly to him. He saw a flash of terror, and thought he deserved to be condemned to hell. He'd put that fear in her eyes. Then he saw the realization dawn, and a single brief moment of pure grief. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed. He pulled her into his lap, and sat there for several long moments, and did something he hadn't down since he was eighteen. He let the grief take over his body, and let tears roll slowly and silently over his cheeks.

"You're doing the right thing, Eliot." He had heard Nate walk in, but hadn't moved. "She'll be safe this way. We'll get the justice that Lisa Porter deserves. We'll be taking down two major crime rings." he said. "It's what we do."

Eliot's fists clenched, as did his jaw. "Yeah. It's what we do. We just don't normally ruin a girl's life while we're at it." he said. Nate stayed silent.

**Ending Note**: Wow. This chapter seriously made me cry. My writing really gets to me sometimes, you know? To write, you have to feel what your characters feel, and sometimes it gets intense. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. : ) Lots more emotional rollercoaster rides to come in this story, so prepare yourself! Lol. Thanks again to everyone whose faved, read, reviewed, or added this story to their alert list. I love you all soooooo much! Stay tuned for the next chapter! XD Reviews make writers write faster, and make me smile. : )


	9. New Plans Ch 9

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity. **

**Author's Note**: Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update. Last week was finals. Enough said. Lol. So I've finally gotten this chapter out. Sorry it's a little short, and a bit of a filler chapter. Major stuff about to happen in the next few chapters though. So hang in there! Thanks again to everyone who's been reviewing. I love you ALL! Hope you like this chapter!

**New Plan**

Nate left Eliot holding onto Ava, and couldn't deny that he had a point. Usually when they did a job, it was all about the client, all about the con, getting the job done. And they'd never made someone's life so hard. At least not like this, and not without making it right again. Nate went into the empty kitchen where Sophie was waiting for him. He scooped a hand through his hair, and sighed. "I'm worried about him." he said finally. Sophie met his gaze evenly.

"I tried to warn you. I tried to warn him. What is it about men; they can't ask for directions, and they can't follow good advice." she said. Nate gave her a wry look, and she shrugged. "I'm just saying." she said.

"Yeah well, I'm worried." he said.

"What should we do?" she asked. "I don't think any of us expected this kind of complication. Not even when he told us about her. We knew then that he cared for her but this…" she said, moving to the doorway, and looking at Eliot in the room beyond. "This is an entirely different situation. He told me he loved her." Sophie murmured. Nate's gaze snapped over to her, and she shrugged again. "Not in so many words, but I knew. And so did he. But I don't think he realized what that meant. Not really. He didn't expect it to be this painful." she said sadly.

"What do we do?" Nate asked, returning her question. Sophie looked back at him.

"I don't know. But after all this is done an over with, we need to find a way to fix it." she said. Nate nodded.

"I agree. We need to try and make it right. Do you think that afterwards, you could talk to the girl? Explain about…" Nate looked at Eliot. "She won't listen to him, but maybe…" He looked back at her.

"I could try." she said. "I don't know if she'll listen to me either." she said. Sophie sighed. "The thing about being a grifter is that you get to know people. You have to. You have know how people will react, know what they'll think, what they'll do. But Ava's difficult. I haven't spent time with her, and her background is a variable that's hard to account for. But my guess is that she'll feel not only betrayed, but used. And that's something that's hard to convince a person of otherwise." she paused, and looked back at Nate. "That's something we should understand perfectly, being what we are." she said. Nate nodded.

"Yes. I understand that. It'll be hard, but we have to try. We owe it to her, and to him to try." he said. Sophie nodded. They both knew that Eliot was not only a good man, but an exceptional one. And he deserved every chance at happiness. And they were both worried that if Ava rejected him, Eliot would break.

Back in the living room, Eliot handled Av as if she were made of glass. He lifted her gently into a chair, and though it broke his heart, he taped her mouth, and bound her hands and legs. He tried to be as gentle as possible, but it still felt like the lowest sort of sin. He sat down in front of her, and watched her sleep. Her face was relaxed completely, the way only sleep could do, and when he touched her cheek, she turned unconsciously into his touch. It killed him, absolutely _killed_ him, to know that this would probably be the last, and only time that she would ever welcome his touch again. Eliot sat, and waited for the men they'd be working with to arrive.

Unfortunately for him, Ava began to wake before that time came. Her eyes began to twitch back and forth beneath her lids, and she frowned. She moaned softly, and Eliot sat still. Her eyes flew open, and she sat bolt upright. She stared around her, confused by her surroundings. As the fog began to clear from her mind, she became aware of the tape across her mouth, and the plastic zip tie that bound her hands to the chair she sat on. Memories snapped back into place, and her gaze snapped to Eliot.

Those sea goddess eyes burned him where he sat, and fury shook her to the core. Her eyes narrowed to slits, but did nothing to lessen their heat. "Ava… I hope that one day you can forgive me for this. I wish I could have told you sooner, but… I just couldn't. I don't know if would have changed anything, but I guess we'll never know. Some people are going to come, and I'm going to have to cooperate with them, but I want you to know that no matter what happens, and no matter what you hear, I love you." he said. Her eyes belied his words, but he didn't care that she didn't believe him. He would never ever stop saying it.

Ava couldn't believe it. Almost. As she stared him down, rage as none other she'd ever felt filled her, consumed her. His strength that she'd come to lean on so easily, so quickly; he'd used that strength against her. He'd used it to overpower her. And he had deceived her. That was the one thing that filled her mind, and her heart. He'd deceived her. He'd used her. He'd lied to her, and made her believe those lies. She had never felt so stupid in her entire life. She'd believed him. Had believed every word he'd spoken, had wanted to believe it so much, that she'd blinded herself to everything else. She had wanted so much for him to love her, that she had ignored everything else. And now she was powerless to resist. Her fury doubled. The one thing she _hated_ more than anything, more than being lied to, was being powerless.

Nate and Sophie rushed into the room. "Eliot, we have a problem." they said. He went on instant alert.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Hardison's let us in a rather large snag. It seems as though instead of ransoming her as we planned, our fall guys want to kill her outright instead."

"_What_? Are you kidding me? After all we've gone through to make this work, it's all for nothing?" he demanded. "After all that I've had to put her through?"

"Eliot, I'm sorry. We couldn't have foreseen this." Sophie said.

Eliot's mind was racing. How would they get justice for Lisa Porter now? What would they do? "Are they on their way?" he asked. Sophie nodded. Eliot froze as he heard a noise outside. It was faint. He knew the others didn't hear, but that didn't stop him. He went into the back, and looked out the back kitchen window which overlooked the back alley behind the house. He saw a group of men, whispering to each other, each with a gun tucked into holsters. Eliot cussed quietly and efficiently, and run back to the living room.

"It's too late. They're already here. We need to leave, now." he said. Sophie and Nate nodded.

"We'll go out the front." Sophie said, and then turned to Nate. "Should we go back to the Hamptons or stay in the city?" she asked. Nate thought quickly.

"I'd say that the Hamptons would be too close to O'Conner, but staying in the city isn't an option. We'll go back to the Hamptons." Nate decided. Ava looked at Eliot, and seemed confused, but still very much furious.

Eliot made a split second decision. "Ava, you're not going to like this." he said. She glared, wariness coming into her eyes. He moved behind her, quickly cut her the bounds that held her wrists. Her feet and mouth were still taped, and he didn't have time to deal with them, and he was afraid she'd fight back. He could see she was going to make a move, and gripped her wrists in his. "Ava, if you fight me, we'll both die." he said. Even through her anger, she could see he was telling her nothing but the truth. She nodded, giving him permission. He swept her up in his arms, and started running all in one breathless movement.

He put her in the passenger side of their car, which Nate had driven there from the parking garage. He got in the driver's side, and slammed it into gear. He handed Ava the blade he always carried on him, so she could cut her legs free. She carefully removed the tape over her mouth, the sawed through the duct tape easily. She held the knife limply in her hands, and stared straight ahead. Eliot cursed silently, and hated that he had a full two hours alone with Ava, but hated more that he hated that being alone with her was now a bad thing.

"Ava…" he began quietly.

"Please don't. Nothing you can say will make it right. Nothing you can say will take it back." she said. The pain he felt when he heard the tears in her voice was blinding. He'd never felt anything like it, and for a moment was stunned by it.

"I know that." he said, hating that it was true. "Will you let me explain?" he asked. Ava was silent for a moment.

"Will it make me hate you less, or more?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't know." he said honestly. "I hope less." Ava nodded.

"Okay." Eliot figured starting from the beginning would be the best way to go.

"The first thing that you should know is that my name isn't Eliot Wolf. It's Eliot Spencer." he said. Ava didn't respond, but Eliot felt a slight weight lift. She knew his real name now. For some reason that was a comfort, if only a small one. "The man and the woman that you met are a part of team that I work for, their names are Nate Ford, and Sophie Devereaux. Nate runs the team. The other two are Parker and Alec Hardison. You'll meet them at house we're renting in the Hamptons."

"What sort of team is it?" she asked hoarsely.

"A con team." he said evenly.

"You're a con man." she said. Eliot nodded.

"Yes, but not in the way you think. Well, it used to be the way you think, but not since Nate found me. Found us." he said. "It used to be that I worked for the highest bidder. I did mostly extraction jobs, finding lost items, or people." he said.

"A mercenary."

"Similar. Then about four months ago, I met Nate. We were supposed to do one job together, then go our separate ways. We all worked alone, but Nate brought us together. He turned the bad guys into the good guys. He made us a team. Four thieves under the rule of a black king is how we like to think of it. Nate used to be the white knight, an insurance investigator. Then he, well, we, got tired of working for the rich big guys, who always screwed over the poor little guys. We more or less switched sides. Started conning people to get money, then give it to the client. And before you ask, we worked for free. Just took some of the money we got on the con. Never took money from a client." he said.

"I'm confused. If you're the good guy, then why the hell have you tried to kidnap me?" Ava asked. Eliot winced.

"I'm getting there." he said. "A month ago, we were approached by a client from here, in New York. Normally we're based out of Boston, but we made an exception this time. Ava… do you know what you're father does?" he asked. Ava was silent, and her face closed off from him.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I do know. And it's why the team was hired to come here." he said. Ava closed her eyes for a moment.

"I know that my father runs the Irish mob in New York. Anything more specific than that, I couldn't tell you." she said.

"So you do know."

"Yes."

"And the only reason you stay is for your mother." he said.

"Yes."

"Would you turn him in otherwise?" he asked. Ava hesitated.

"I like to believe that I would. But no matter how cruel he is, he's still my father." she said. "And I don't know exactly what he does anyways." she said. But they both knew it was an excuse, and a lame one at that.

"Well, our client, her name is Lisa Porter. Your father, he…. he killed hers." he said. Ava winced, and gave a little broken sob. "I'm sorry Ava. But it's true. Lisa came to us, and asked for our help. We agreed. Your father doesn't allow really any information about him to get out, so it was difficult to find a way in. Until…"

"Until you heard about me." she murmured.

"Yeah. We heard your dad was looking for a new security guard for you, and we knew that was the only time he'd consider bringing in an outsider. So Nate sent me in." he said.

"How'd you know that you'd get hired?" she asked.

"I'm the best." he said. It was said without cockiness, or smugness. It wasn't difficult to believe him. Especially since she'd sparred with him.

Ava was silent for a moment. "Was it, was I, part of the plan?" she asked.

"No." Eliot said firmly. "It was never part of the plan. In fact, it's strictly against the rules. When I… when I told the team that I'd begun to care for you, Nate was going to try and use it, but I refused." he said.

"Why should I believe you?" she asked.

"Because I've never lied to you. Not about anything as important as this." he said.

"I can't know you're telling the truth about that either." she said. She began speaking again before he could object. "How was kidnapping me part of the plan?" she asked.

"Well, we had to find a way to send your father to prison." Eliot said. Something flickered across her face, and then it was gone. "After I got hired, I was supposed to stay for a month to try and learn everything I could about your father, to find a way in. Recently, we found it. The plan was to team up with a rival organized crime group. I would stay there at the house we were at, and ransom you to your father. He'd be forced to use money from accounts that would alert the feds that are watching him. At the same time, we'd call in a tip, have the feds track your father to the house. I'd be there with a fake badge, and take you out while leaving them to clean up after your dad and his enemies." he said.

Ava leaned back in her seat. "Wow. You thought of everything. Almost." she said. Eliot's grip tightened on the wheel.

"Yeah. We didn't take into account the rival group just taking you out of the picture. We thought they were smarter than that, but apparently not." he said through clenched teeth. "I wasn't going to let them hurt you Ava. I'd never let anyone hurt you." he said quietly. He knew that the words were meaningless to her, but felt compelled to say them anyway. There was silence in the car again, and Eliot wasn't sure what Ava was feeling. She was closed off from him; she'd shifted so that the seat was leaned back and she was lying almost on her side, her whole body turned away from him. The distance might have only been mere inches physically, but it felt like miles. Eliot wondered if he'd ever be able to reach her again.

When they pulled up to the house, Ava got out silently, and followed Eliot inside. Sophie, Nate, Hardison, and Parker were all waiting. Parker was going to reach out to Eliot, but stopped when she saw his face, and then when she saw Ava. Everyone in the room went silent and still. Ava rolled her eyes. "Please, nobody talk all at once. No need to be shy. Especially since you've already invaded every aspect of my life. I imagine that you know me better than I know myself." she said, her voice cold. Eliot winced.

"Ava, I didn't tell them anything about you. I told them about your father, and your mother, but I didn't-"

"You told them, about my mother?" she asked, her eyes frozen into emeralds of glittering rage. Eliot stopped, and considered his words carefully.

"I had to." he said. "To get the job done." he said.

Ava suddenly changed, and Eliot knew she'd reached the breaking point. All emotion fled from her face, her eyes, and left her cold, and expressionless. A ghost, a reflection of the real thing. He felt another part of his heart shatter, and winced. If this kept up, there wouldn't be much of him left when it was all over. "Right. To get the job done." she said. "If you'll excuse me, I think I need some air." she said. She moved through the room, and out onto the balcony. She made sure no one was watching, then leapt gracefully off the edge, flipped once, then landed with the simple grace of a cat.

She walked carefully over the sand, and the sat down close to the water, so that the white lace and blue silk of the waves tickled her toes after she took off her shoes. The moon was full and fat in the sky, as night had fallen on the drive back from the city. Ava sat there for a long time, breathed in the sea, and grieved silently for what she had lost, and raged at the pride and the anger that kept her from ever getting it back again. The rage and grief fought for dominance, and Ava's mind and heart simply shut down for a while, as a way to deal with the internal war.

She felt the presence behind her before she saw or heard it. She didn't move, thinking it was Eliot. So when the petite blonde woman from inside plopped down next to her in the sand, she jumped a little. "I saw your moves back there on the balcony. Pretty impressive." she said. "Gymnastics classes?" she asked. Ava frowned, and nodded. "I figured." she said. She lapsed back into silence for a while, and Ava found with surprise that her company was almost relaxing. Ava was generally good at reading first impressions people, and this woman's was very interesting. Damn near childlike, blunt, open, and obviously caring, even if she seemed a little cautious about it. Her emotions seemed to be displayed on a message board across her forehead, for everyone to see. It was a little unnerving, but fascinating all the same.

"So listen…" she began. "I know you love Eliot." Ava's heart trembled. "And he loves you." she said. Ava shook her head.

"I don't believe that."

"Why?" Ava turned to her in disbelief.

"Because he's a con man! He lies for a living! And it doesn't make any difference if he works for the good guys or not. He still used me. I don't care what he says. His being there in my house, under the pretense of protecting me is still using me." Ava said. The woman thought about it.

"Yeah. So?" she asked. Ava's jaw dropped.

"What do you mean _so_?" she demanded.

"Why does all that have to mean he doesn't love you?" she asked. Ava's mind raced.

"It… It just does. He can't love me if he lied to me. Used me the way he did." The woman stared at her.

"We're all thieves, the team, in our own way." she said. "Nate's the brains. Sophie's the grifter, the actress. Hardison's the hacker. I'm the thief, the safe cracker. And Eliot… Eliot's what we call the hitter. The protector. He might dole out the punches, but he also takes them, so that we don't have too. That's what inside him. A protector. So anything he did while he was there with you was his job. Protecting us. But I also know that he was protecting you, too. He'd give his life for you, you know." she said. Ava remained silent. "It's not easy for a thief to love someone." she said, looking out over the water. "It's hard, because we're different. Not normal. We can't be, not even if we wanted to. There's something inside us that makes us good at what we do, and something else that lets us do it without caring about the consequences. That's a big part of where Nate comes in. He controls that urge in us, helps us channel it. But that's not important. The point is that just because it's not easy for us to love, doesn't mean that it's impossible. Eliot does love you. In the only way he knows how. That may not be in the way you're used to, or the way you were expecting, but that's the only way he knows." she said.

Ava had listened, and tried to do so objectively. But she just _couldn't_ believe her. The words made sense. They should have eased some of the hurt, the pain, the anger. But they didn't. She was blinded by the fact that Eliot had betrayed her, and her heart and mind told her with one hundred percent certainty that that betrayal couldn't have been possible if he loved her. "I… I can't believe you." she said. Parker shrugged, but thought it was a good thing that she said that she 'can't' not 'don't'. Don't was a willful choice that was almost impossible to changed. Can't was out of your control, which meant that could always be changed by someone else.

"I understand. Just think about what I said, ok? Eliot's a good guy. We all like him, and he'd gonna be pretty broken up about this." she said. She stood, and started towards the house. "I'm Parker by the way." she said. Ava nodded.

"Ava."

"I know." she said. Ava rolled her eyes. "Do you mind? I'd love to see some more of your moves." she said, gesturing to the top of the balcony. Ava managed a small smile.

"Sure." she said. She always loved a challenge.

Ava took a running start, ran a way up the side of the house, sprang off, twisted and landed in a rolling somersault, then jumped to her feet. Parker gave a little applause, and Ava smiled again. She was kind of started to like the self proclaimed thief. And she couldn't deny she was impressed when Parker completed a routine similar to hers, but instead of landing in a roll, she caught herself on her hands, and did a back handspring for flare. Ava shook her head. "Show off." she said. Parker grinned.

"Always. You need a little work on the landing." she said.

"I'm a little rusty." she said, her competitive streak up. Parker smiled.

"I'd be happy to practice with you sometime." she said. Ava shook her head, knowing that that practice would go towards stealing things. She doubted it would happen, but didn't want to dampen Parker's chipper mood.

They went back inside, and saw everyone waiting for them. "So, what do you plan to do now?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" asked the pretty brunette that Ava assumed was Sophie.

"What is your plan now that kidnapping me has failed?" A sort of ragged looking man cleared his throat, and Ava knew immediately that this was Nate, the leader. Everyone in the group looked to him, unconsciously shifted towards him, to listen without pause. There was unshakable trust in their eyes, and Ava was, for a moment, in awe.

"We're sorry for that, but you have to understand that if there had been another way we would have taken it. But there wasn't. And we… we can't let your father keep killing people." he said. Ava sat down in a chair, her posture defiant and aggressive.

"I never said I disagreed with you. I asked you what your plan was now." she said. The group all seemed surprised, Eliot especially. His eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

"Ah, well, I'm not sure. You see, your father has the best security on the grounds, and even better computer security."

"Military grade, and that's saying something. Now normally that wouldn't be a problem, but even after I hack in, there's no files. No nothing. He doesn't store anything on his computer. He wipes it clean, every day. No matter what, and makes sure he doesn't leave a trail." a dark skinned man that had to be Hardison said.

"Right." Nate agreed. "And he doesn't deal outside the family and family friends, so we can't have anyone flip on him. And he doesn't appear to have a paper trail so…"

"You're wrong." Ava said. Nate blinked.

"What?"

"He has a paper trail." she said.

"We've looked through every inch of that house, and all his businesses, there's no files, and there's no safe, no safety deposit box that might have them either." Eliot said. Ava's gaze rested on him for a second, then moved back to Nate. A loud and clear 'fuck you'.

"You haven't searched every inch." she said. She looked over at Hardison. "Do you have a digital copy of the floor plans?" she asked. Hardison frowned, surprised at the question.

"Ah, yeah." He pulled it up on the screen.

"Now, do you have a floor plan based on what's Eliot's told you?" she asked.

"Yeah, we had two made so that we could look for safes or a room that wasn't what it was supposed to be but… how did you know?" he asked. She looked over her shoulder, and raised a brow. Hardison shrugged, and pulled up the second floor plan, then laid them side by side. Ava studied them for a moment, and then smiled.

She walked up to the screen, and pointed. "There. Do you see it?" she asked. Everyone looked, but no one saw anything out of the ordinary. Ava rolled her eyes. "Put them on top of each other." she said. Hardison did as she asked, and the screen showed the two blue prints on top of each other. "Notice anything off there, the south wall, both upstairs and down?" she asked. Ava heard Nate sigh.

"Of course. How could we have missed that?" he murmured. "A secret room. From his office to downstairs." he said.

"Yes. The door is in his office, and is the only way inside. There's a stair case downstairs, and that's where the room is. All his paper files are in there. He keeps a record of every bribe, every payment, everything he's ever done is there." she said.

"How do you know?" Eliot asked. Ava tensed, then forced herself to relax.

"Because I've seen it. Once when he went out the house after we'd had a fight, I went into his office, with the intent of trashing it. While in this process, I tripped the door's access key. There's painting behind his desk, underneath it is the key. When I saw it, I had a hunch about what it was. I guessed the pass code after two tries. There's only one more door after that, I guessed that code too. When I saw all the files, I was terrified of what might be inside them. But I looked at them anyways. I only had to look at two files before I knew what they were, and what they meant. I swore I'd never go back into that room, until I was sure that I wanted him behind bars. I wasn't sure of that until about an hour ago." she said.

The room was silent for a moment. "We'd need someone on the inside to take us there. Eliot?" Nate asked.

"I don't know the pass code." he said. Nate looked at Ava.

"Either you tell us the code, or you take Eliot inside. Or you don't get involved at all, and we'll find another way. We'll leave it up to you. It's the least we can do after…" he said, letting the sentence hang. Ava thought about it for a moment.

"I'll help you. Because the murder an innocent man isn't something I can live with, and I certainly can't live with the possibility that my father might do it again." she said quietly.

"Thank you." Sophie said, touching her hand lightly. "I know it's not much, but… thank you." she said. Ava looked at her, and seemed utterly lost for a moment. Then she nodded, and stood to leave.

"We'll do it tomorrow. He's supposed to be out for the day. Tomorrow." she repeated. The team nodded, and Ava started out the door. Eliot followed.

He grabbed her arm lightly. "Ava…" She tugged it free, and pinned him with those mossy green eyes, now filled with tears.

"You know what the worst part is?" she whispered. "If… if after I'd fallen in love with you, you'd told me… just told me everything. I would have helped you. I might even have believed that you loved me back." she whispered. Anger filled him at her words. She was only the second person he'd ever told that he loved them, and she was tossing his words away like they were nothing.

"I do love you Ava." he said. Ava shook her head.

"I don't believe you." she said. Eliot grabbed her, and even knowing that he did so out of anger, couldn't stop himself. He yanked her against him, and kissed her. He kissed her for all he was worth, and poured himself into it.

For a moment, one stunning moment, she yielded. Her body gave, and trembled against him, and her mouth parted on a little cry. He lost himself quickly in her, and for a moment could forget everything… Then as suddenly as she gave in, she pulled away. She shoved away from him, her face angry, but mostly sad. And confused. "I have no doubt you wanted me." she snarled. "You can't fake that. But that doesn't mean that you ever gave a damn about me." she said.

"Ava-"

"I'm leaving. I'm taking the car. I'll pick you up tomorrow for the job. I'll make something up about why you aren't there." she said. The message was clear. She didn't want him there. She whirled around again, and got into the car. Eliot watched her speed away, and knew his heart stayed with her, whether or not she wanted it, or whether or not she believed she had it.

Ava drove like a maniac all the way home, and then pulled the car into the driveway, and tried to control the tidal wave of emotions that kept bombarding her. It felt like waves. A wave, with considerable weight and force behind it, would crash over her, and nearly knock her off her feet. Then, before she could even recover from that wave, another would come crashing down over her. But she had to stand against them, and stand firm. Or she'd fall, and she'd never get back up. She'd drown. Ava took a deep breath, and gathered her strength. If she could just get through this, then she could fall apart later.

She went in the house, and went straight to find her father. She found him in his office, staring out the window. "Da?" she called. He turned around.

"You're home late." he said. Ava nodded.

"Yes, I'm sorry. We lost track of time." she said.

"Where's Eliot?" he asked.

"A friend of his had an emergency, and called him. He was going to drive me home, but I just told him to take the night and tomorrow morning off." she lied smoothly. Her father seemed distracted, because he didn't question her further.

"Alright. Good night." he said, and looked back out the window. Ava breathed a sigh of relief, and left quickly.

Her plan was to go straight up to her room, and fall apart, but something stopped her. Something pushed her feet in another direction. Finn came down from her room, and followed her through the house, and then out across the yard drenched in moonlight. She hesitated when she reached the guest house, but forced herself to go inside. She didn't know why, but it was something that she had to do. She turned the knob, and went inside.

The pain was breathtaking. Simply breathtaking. But she embraced it, and continued inside. It all looked the same. That was the hard part. It was all exactly as they'd left it, just that morning. But everything was different now. Everything had changed. Tears fell silently when she looked at the bed. It was still tumbled from where they'd slept… when they'd made love. She stripped off her clothes, suddenly exhausted, and tumbled into the bed wearing nothing but her underwear. A sob ripped from her chest when she smelled him, and her. Their scents mingled together on the pillow, and mocked her of what she could never have again. Finn leapt lightly onto the bed next to her, and laid down beside her as she let the sobs and the pain overtake her.

**Ending Note: **Hey everyone! I hope you liked this chapter. It was… intense to write. And well, just so you know, my stories never had unhappy endings. Just thought I'd through that out there. In case anyone was getting worried. Lol. So, thanks again for reading, and reviewing, and faving, and all that amazing stuff you guys do! :D I seriously love you guys. XD Reviews are always amazing, no matter how short. : )


	10. Saying Goodbye Ch 10

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity. **

**Saying Goodbye**

**Author's Note**: Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took a while to get out. I've been crazy busy. X( Anways, thanks so much to all the amazing reviews, favs, etc. You guys rock. And a special thank you to Trapper Creek Kaniac, my awesome and amazing beta. You are a life saver! :D So, hope you like this chapter! XD

In the morning, Ava woke slowly. Her heart remembered the ache, and the pain, even before her mind cleared or her eyes were open. Her mind woke next, sighing, and praying it had all been a dream, even while she knew it couldn't have been. Her eyes were the last things to open to the reality in front of her. She was in his bed, his scent and her own, surrounding her, Finn lying down beside her, trying to offer her comfort. Her throat felt raw from sobbing, and the skin on her cheeks felt stiff and cool from the tears that had dried there. Ava sighed, and as she sat up, she pushed back the heavy weight of her hair. A shower was what she needed. She stroked Finn's silky fur in passing, and headed to the bathroom.

She stripped down to her skin, and turned on the hot spray of water, then stepped underneath it. Ava did her best to keep the memories from filling her mind, but flashes of them kept slipping in. She ignored them as best she could, but knew that she would never be able to stay in that house again. After her mother… well, after, and after this whole nightmare with her father was over, she'd go away. Far away. Maybe back home, to Ireland. Maybe there she could forget everything that happened. Maybe there, she could start to heal.

After scrubbing herself clean of the physical evidence of her grief, she got out of the shower to face the outside world. She went back into the main part of the guest house, and pulled out her care package from under the bed. She slipped into her jeans, and a plain black tank top. She dug around for what she'd packed to go over it, and came up with a blue flannel button up. Eliot's blue flannel button up. She closed her eyes against the swarm of memories and the pain that went with them. She held the flannel that was worn soft with age, to her face, and inhaled deeply. God, how could she do this? How could she go on, knowing what she knew? Ava sighed, and tried to get a grip. She could do this. She could do this.

In an irresistible flash of sentiment, she decided to wear the damn shirt. It was comfortable, practice, and damn it, she wanted him to see her in it. Wanted him to feel what she was feeling. That loss of what had been so good between them. She shrugged on the shirt that was at least three sizes too big. She rolled up the sleeves so that they came down to her elbows, and then tied the ends together so that it was tight around the waist. She then Pulled on a pair of leather boots and tucked her jeans into them. She wasn't going to let her grief show, and she sure as hell wasn't going to let herself become one of those people who completely lost themselves after a bad break up. She was lost all right… but she didn't have to let anyone see that she was.

After she was presentable, Ava considered going into the main house to warn Cal and her mother, but decided against it. She'd wait until the last minute to do that. Call her a coward, but she'd rather wait and deal with all the shit at the same time, in one great big punch. It'd be easier that way. That way she could gather her strength, save it for when she'd really need it. Ava got into Eliot's car, and peeled out of the driveway. It was early; a little after eight. Just early enough to get out without setting off alarms, but not early enough that anyone would be up to stop her. Since Eliot, everyone had assumed that Ava would stick around, because where Eliot was, Ava was sure to be. Ava's jaw clenched. Like a god damn puppy dog, she thought with disgust. She shook her head, and focused on the road.

She found her way back to the house that Eliot was sharing with the team easily enough. It was about ten miles from her house. She shook her head angrily. Damned convenient location. She pulled the car into the drive, and honked. She didn't particularly feel like socializing with the people who had been hired to con her murderer of a father. She saw Eliot at the second story window, and felt her heart contract painfully. God, how could she have forgotten how good he looked. All that wonderful, thick brown hair, those sharp, look-right-through-your-soul eyes, the hint of stubble around the tough take-a-punch jaw. And god, his shoulders. She had a major weak spot for those strong, broad shoulders. Ava shuddered, and struggled to get a grip on herself. Be cool, Ava. Be cool.

Eliot came out of the house at a brisk jog, and got into the passenger side of the car. His door was barely closed before Ava had taken off again. Eliot winced at the expression she wore. Anger, pure and simple. But instead of hot and passionate, it was cold and vague. Somehow that was worse. He did a double take when he saw what she was wearing. It was his favorite blue flannel shirt, the one he'd given her just last week. She'd slept in it one night, and he'd told her to keep it. And now she was wearing it. Ava glanced at him, caught him staring. "What?" she demanded. Eliot shook his head.

"Nothing." he murmured. He wondered if it had been sentiment, or desire to torture him that had driven her to wear the shirt. He guessed it didn't matter much either way. Both ways sucked for both of them.

Ava paused just outside the perimeter of the house. She was silent for a long while, so Eliot broke the silence first. "You clear on the plan?" he asked roughly.

"Yeah. My father left early this morning for New York. He'll be there all day in meetings. We get in, get the files, and then you and your team take them to the police. And then you disappear." she said. If Eliot noticed the way her voice wavered at the end, he didn't say so.

"Sounds about right." he said. Ava nodded, and then slowly pulled into the estate's drive. They both got out of the car, and went into the house. They paused at the threshold, and let the memories wash around them. They whispered through the air like ghosts, and Ava shivered.

"Let's get this over with." she murmured.

They began moving forward, when suddenly Eliot sensed a movement to their right. He moved, but just barely quickly enough to avoid getting a large fist in his face. Ava spun around, and saw Cal, the only father she'd ever known, his face contorted with rage, doing his best to break Eliot's nose. "Cal! Cal what on earth are you doing?" Ava demanded. Cal didn't respond, because he was a little busy with Eliot. Eliot was holding his own, but the problem was that Eliot didn't want to hurt Cal, and Cal obviously wanted to hurt him. Finally Eliot couldn't hold back any longer. He spun Cal around, and locked him into a loose choke hold, not putting on enough pressure to knock him out, but enough that he couldn't get out.

For a moment, Ava wasn't sure how to feel. She shook her head. She didn't have time for this. "Cal, what are you doing?" she asked again. Cal huffed with exertion and rage.

"Trying to protect you." he said.

"What are you talking about?" Ava asked.

"Don't you think that when you came home last night, I heard you talking to your father? I heard you lie to him. The Eliot I knew wouldn't have ever let you drive home alone. Not unless something was seriously wrong. So when you didn't go up to your room, I went looking for you at the guest house. I heard you crying." he said, his voice raw with emotion. At the mention of tears, Eliot looked at Ava, his eyes going soft with grief. Ava shook her head. She didn't want his pity.

"I heard your crying." Cal repeated. "You crying, Eliot not here… One plus one make two, sweetheart." he said. Eliot's grip loosened, until he let Cal go completely. Cal stared at him with pure hatred in his eyes. "You hurt her. You were supposed to protect her. And you broke her heart." he snarled. Eliot's eyes shown with shame, but he met Cal's gaze steadily.

"Yes. I did." he said simply. Ava blinked. That was one response she had not expected. Apparently Cal hadn't either, because he faltered. "I broke her heart. And I will have to live with that for the rest of my life. I'll have to live with the fact that I hurt the woman I love. And I will have to accept that nothing I can do will make for, or take away that hurt. That's on me. And I understand if you want to take a swing at me. But now's not the time." Eliot said. Cal regained his focus.

"Oh, and why's that?" he demanded. Ava decided it was time for her to intervene.

Ava stepped towards Cal, and laid her hands on his cheeks. His face softened, and his eyes asked her what to do. Ava smiled shakily. "Cal, you've worked for my father practically since I was born. You know him. You know what he is." she said. Cal's expression darkened, and she could see him try and draw back from that. "No, Cal, listen to me. I know what he is, too. I know." she whispered.

"Oh, Ava. I wanted so much to shield you from that world." he said. Ava smiled, and kissed his cheek lightly.

"I know it. That's why I never let on. But I've known. I've always known he was evil. But just last year I found just how evil. I want you to know, I know you're a good man." Cal winced. How did that girl know just what he feared most? "I know that you only stayed because you wanted to protect me. But now it has to end. This has to stop." Ava took a deep breath. "I know… I know that Eliot isn't who he said he was. I suspect you know something of that too." She said. Cal nodded. "But I also know that he's here to help make this stop. We're going to end him, Cal. He needs to be put away." she said. She kissed his cheeks, and smiled. "You will always be the man that I think of as Da." she murmured. His eyes filled with emotion.

"I will always think of you as my little girl." he said. Ava took a shaky breath.

"I love you, Cal."

"Love you too, angel." he said. He used to call her that when she was little, thinking it was funny, because her name was Avangeline, but she was such a troublesome child. Ava smiled.

"Keep a look out for me?" she asked. He nodded, then looked at Eliot.

"Anything happens to her because of you, so help me God, I will make sure that you can never do so again." Cal warned. Eliot nodded.

"I didn't expect anything different. And don't worry. You might not believe me, and I don't particularly care whether or not you do, but I'd give my life to protect Ava." he said. Cal looked at Eliot, and something important seemed to pass between the two of them. Some strange, unspoken male language that Ava had no hope of deciphering. But Cal relaxed, and nodded. Eliot nodded back, and Ava shook her head.

Ava and Eliot headed upstairs, and Ava paused at her mother's doorway. "I need to speak with her." Ava said quietly. Eliot nodded, and moved to lean against the way to wait for her. She moved inside, and prayed for strength. Her mother was lying in bed, reading a book, with traditional Irish music playing softly on the little CD player on the nightstand. Her mother's health had been slowly declining over the last month, until about a week ago, when she'd become too weak, and frail to do much of anything. She couldn't even get out of bed most mornings, so Ava had been spending at least three hours every day with her mother. Her mother had forbidden her to spend more than that inside her room. She kept insisting that Ava keep living her life, that even though soon she would be gone, Ava would still remain.

Helen smiled as Ava walked in the room. "Ava, darling. How are you?" she asked. Ava's eyes filled with tears.

"Not well. Not at all well." she whispered. Ava's strength failed her, and she crawled into bed with her mother, and let herself be held, and soothed. She didn't cry, but drew comfort and strength from her mother's silent support.

"What is it, my little Avangeline?" she asked. Ava sighed. And then told her everything. It all just spilled over, and poured out of her. Her mother listened carefully, and quietly until the end. "How do you know he never loved you?" she asked finally. Ava shook her head.

"I guess I don't. Not for sure anyways. But I don't want to believe that he did." she said.

"I see. And I guess I can understand that." she said. "But maybe you need to try and understand where Eliot's coming from." Helen said.

"I don't want to."Ava said. She knew she sounded like a sulky child, but couldn't help it. Helen sighed.

"What will happen after your father is sent away?" Helen asked. Ava was surprised that she was taking it so well.

"I want to take a vacation. We'll go home to Ireland." Ava said.

"And after I'm gone?" Helen asked. Ava winced.

"I'll probably stay there." Ava said. Helen nodded.

"A fresh start." she said. Ava nodded. "Alright. I understand why you're doing this. I wish you would have told me about your father sooner. I never would have stayed, if I had known." she said, her voice brisk and cool. Ava looked at her.

"I didn't want you to have to worry about that on top of everything else. And if you recall, I tried to make you leave." Ava said. Helen gave her a look, and Ava felt properly chastised.

"Go on, Ava. Do what you have to do. Make sure he can never destroy anyone's family again." she said. Ava got up, and nodded. "Oh, and Ava?" Ava turned. "Send him in." she said. Ava's eyes flashed. "Don't give me that look, girl. I want to speak with him." she said. Ava turned sharply, and went out.

There was Eliot, completely relaxed, and waiting patiently. "She wants to talk to you." Ava snarled. Eliot didn't respond, just turned and walked into the room. When he saw Helen lying there, frail and weak, but somehow still elegant and beautiful, he felt the guilt, shame, and grief threaten to over take him. Her red hair was limp and dull, but had been pulled back as always at the nape of her neck in a simple bun. The light was still in her pretty brown eyes, but had faded some. And she looked tired. Down to the bone tired. But she smiled at him when she saw him. And shamed him all the more.

He crouched beside her bed, and couldn't bring himself to look Helen in the eyes. "Eliot." she called gently, but firmly. He looked up at her. Helen's heart trembled, and sighed for him. He looked so lost, and ashamed. She touched his cheek gently. "I understand what you did." she said. His expression cleared a little. "I don't like it, but I understand it. I do wish that you had told her sooner. But maybe you weren't meant to. She's hurt, and angry. And she doesn't understand. She's going to need time. Time alone. If after that time, she can forgive you, she'll come back. But there's nothing more you can do for her. The choice must be hers." she said. Eliot nodded.

"I understand." he said. Helen nodded.

"Good. Now, go protect my little girl." Helen said regally. Eliot smiled.

"Yes ma'am." He stood, kissed her hand, making her smile, and then left.

Ava was standing outside, fairly shaking with outrage. Eliot said nothing, knowing that Helen had been right. There was nothing he could say that would reach her now. Instead, he pulled out two earbuds from his pocket. He put one in, and handed the other to Ava. "These are com units. The whole time will be able to hear us through them." Eliot said. Ava nodded, and stuck it into her ear. "Hello? Nate?" Eliot called.

"I'm here. We're all ready when you are." Nate said. Eliot looked at Ava, and she led the way.

They moved down the hall to O'Conner's office, walking cautiously, should one of the security team, besides Cal, find them somewhere they shouldn't be. Ava opened the door, ushered Eliot in, and then closed it softly behind them. She went straight to the south wall, behind his desk, and took a painting off of its hook on the wall. There, just as she said there would be, was a keypad. Eliot shook his head. He never would have taken O'Conner for a high tech kind of guy, but he supposed he probably should have. After all, one of the most dangerous things about O'Conner was that he could adapt quickly to anything, and apparently that extended to technology. Ava briskly typed in the code, and waited. Something clicked, and Ava looked at Eliot. "Help me with this." she said. She dug her fingers into a crease in the wall, and tugged. It moved back an inch to reveal a sliver of a door. Eliot moved forward, and gently moved her out of the way. With one good shove, he'd moved the wall back far enough to reveal the door. Ava stared at him for a moment, then opened the door.

"Did it work?" Nate asked.

"Of course it worked." Ava said indignantly. "I said it would."

"Just checking." Nate muttered.

Ava rolled her eyes, and walked inside. She then moved down the stairs that the door revealed, and Eliot followed. The stairs didn't go very long, down one flight, then another, to what Eliot thought must have originally been a basement. There was another door, with another key pad. Ava typed in a code there, and again, the door's lock clicked, and Ava opened it. They stepped inside, and there was a small room, with several file cabinets, a desk, and various other items. Eliot walked to the nearest file cabinet, and looked back at Ava, who was waiting at the door. "I'm not looking in those again." she said. She seemed suddenly small, her arms crossed over her chest, her face anxious. Eliot just nodded, understanding that while she could accept the fact that her father was a killer, there was a difference between believing and seeing.

Eliot sifted through the files, finding a couple that would be most important to the cops. "That's all you're taking?" Ava demanded when Eliot turned away from the cabinets.

"Nate." Eliot said, by way of asking him to explain.

"We can't take all of them. We turn these files into the cops; the cops get a search warrant for the rest of the files. Eliot, make sure you get one's that will get the cops attention. A pay off, a murder, and an arms deal would be best." Nate said. Ava winced, and Eliot sighed. They walked up the stairs together, and out into the office. There, they found O'Conner, with the entire core team. Eliot and Ava both froze. O'Conner's eyes were cold when he sized up Eliot, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes when he looked at Ava. Eliot wasn't sure if it was anger or pain.

"Hello, Eliot. Ava." he said coolly.

"Eliot what's going on?" Sophie asked, over the com.

"O'Conner." Eliot muttered.

"Oh shit." Hardison groaned.

"Where's Cal?" Ava asked. That was Ava. Her first thought was always for those she cared about.

"Downstairs. He's been detained." he said.

"You were supposed to be gone." Ava said. O'Conner smiled.

"Yes, well, plans change." he replied. "Especially when you discover that there is a traitor among you. A rival organization from New York has informed me of your extracurricular activities, Eliot. They tell me that you kidnapped Ava for them. And yet here she stands. So I'm a little confused." O'Conner said. Eliot's heart thundered in his chest, not out of fear for himself, but fear for Ava. He wasn't sure what O'Conner would do. But Ava's gaze was steely, and solidly calm.

"Yes, he did kidnap me. It was part of the plan to bring you down. He was hired by the daughter of the man that you killed." she said. O'Conner's eyes flashed with shock, and just a sliver of fear. "That's right Da. I know what you are. And after all the lies that Eliot's told me, he could never, ever be as cruel as you. I've known what you are for months. But I kept my mouth shut for my mother, your wife. But I can't anymore. It has to stop." Ava said.

"After everything that I've done for you? You betray me for some common crook?" O'Conner asked quietly. Ava's eyes flashed, and she walked forward. No, stalked was a better word. When they were toe to toe, Ava stared coldly into his eyes.

"After everything that that, common crook, as you put it, has done to me, I still trust him more than I could ever trust you." she whispered. Eliot felt a jolt of shock, but didn't have time to react further than that.

Ava's fist suddenly snapped forward, hitting her father square in the face. He staggered a moment, and then fell to the ground, unconscious. Eliot's experience told him he'd only stay that way for about ten minutes. The core team's eyes widened, and they stared at each other, unsure of what to do now that their boss was temporarily out of commission. "You have two options. You cooperate with me, you can cut a deal with the cops, and get out of prison before you die of old age. Or, you get the shit beaten out of you, and then you go to jail until you die, or you celebrate you one hundred and fiftieth birthday. Whichever comes first." she said. The team looked at each other, then picked up O'Conner, and shouldered his weight.

"Where do you want him?" they asked.

"Put him in the car out front." Ava said. They nodded, and left.

Ava faced Eliot, but didn't look at him. Eliot knew that she was hurting, and knew that if he tried to help it'd only make it worse. He walked forward, and paused when he was next to her. "I'm sorry, Ava." He said nothing more, but walked out of the room.

"Is Ava okay?" Eliot heard Parker ask over the com.

"I don't know. This job has had so many fuck ups, and she's been so much already. Now she's had to punch her own father in the face, in the process of helping us take him down. I'm not sure anyone can be excepted to be okay after that." Eliot said. He was met with silence, and he shook his head. God this sucked. He went downstairs, and saw the team putting O'Conner in the car. "Where's Cal?" he asked.

"O'Conner cuffed him to a chair in the kitchen." one of the replied. Eliot tossed them a pair of cuffs.

"Make sure he's wearing these before he wakes up." he said. The team nodded. Eliot turned sharply, and jogged into the kitchen. Sure enough, there was Cal, with a split lip and a black eye. "Jesus, Cal." he said. "Parker, basic cuffs. How do I pick it?" he asked. Parker walked him through it, and Cal was out of the restraints in no time.

"Thanks, Eliot. Jesus, that man is a piece of work. One of the core team overheard you, me, and Ava talking. O'Conner hadn't really left anyways, but it gave him another person to be pissed at. He gave me a couple of punches, and cuffed me to the chair, then went up to find you." he said, swiping his hand across his bleeding mouth. "I wish I could say that he punches like my sister, but I'd be lying." Eliot couldn't help but smile. He could ice out of the freezer, and gave it to Cal. "Thanks."

"Listen, I'm going to take O'Conner, and the files. We won't be coming back." He said after a pause.

"I imagine you're including yourself in that." Cal said. Eliot nodded. "And Ava?"

"She'll do whatever she wants to. If she can find it in her to forgive me, and come with me, then that will be a miracle. More than likely she'll choose to stay with her mother, take her somewhere that they can spend their last days together in peace." Eliot said. Cal sighed.

"Ava's always done exactly what she wanted to do." he said. Eliot nodded. Cal looked at Eliot carefully. "You're a good man, Eliot. I don't care what Ava says, or what she might think you've done to her. I've seen the way you look at her. You'd do anything to protect her. I know that, because a man doesn't look at a woman like that without being desperately in love with her. If you're ever in New York, don't hesitate to call." Cal said. Eliot grinned.

"I won't." he said. They shook hands firmly, and Eliot headed back out.

When Eliot got to the car, O'Conner was awake and sitting calmly and silently in the back seat of the car. "Well, Eliot." O'Conner said when he saw him. "You caught me. What's next?" he asked.

"You go away for the rest of your life." Eliot said coldly.

"Yes, I knew that. I've known that this day would come eventually, for decades. What I meant was, what's next for you?" he asked, tilting his head. Eliot's blood ran cold. Eliot could count on one hand the number of men that scared him, and O'Conner was one of them. He scared him because he was completely devoid of emotions, and more importantly, that cold blooded bastard, that murderer, had lived with Ava since she was a girl. It was a miracle that she turned out to be the amazing woman that she was.

"What are you talking about?" Eliot demanded.

"I'm talking about you, screwing my daughter. She clearly knows about what you've done to her, and isn't interested in letting you con her into your bed. So, what are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'm going to take you to the cops, and then I'm going to go back to doing my job." Eliot said. "The one I had before you."

O'Conner was silent for a moment, then smiled. "It's probably for the best, you know." he said. Eliot's eyes narrowed.

"And why's that?" he snarled.

"Eliot, don't let him get to you." Nate said. Eliot ignored him.

"You're a criminal, Eliot. A cold blooded con artist, trying to play at being the good guy. But that's all you're doing. Pretending. You were there, on that job I took you on. And you did nothing. You're no different than me, Eliot. You just pretend you are. You're not right for her. You'd hurt her." he said. Eliot's eyes flashed.

"I'd never."

"You say that. But you've got all that violence in you. And what would happen, I wonder, if one day you let your control on that violence… slip." he said. Eliot physically recoiled from the thought. He'd never… he'd never hurt Ava, not like that. He'd never lay a hand on a woman like that. Would he? "That's right, doubt yourself. You know you should. You can never be sure of yourself. Not men like us." he said.

"Eliot! He'd lying. You're ten times the man that he is. Don't you dare let him tell you different." Eliot heard Sophie's voice in his ear.

"Screw you, O'Conner." Eliot said. He slammed the door shut. He looked at one of the team members. "Take him to the police station. They'll be waiting for him." he said, handing him the files. He nodded, and got in the car. Eliot watched it disappear, and felt a little bit of the weight in his chest lessen. But at the same time, he knew that O'Conner's words had already done their damage. They'd already sowed that first little seed of doubt, and Eliot knew that it would fester.

Eliot turned, and saw Ava standing there, her arms crossed over her chest, watching him silently. Eliot couldn't read her expression, and after a moment gave up trying to guess. "I need to get back to the house. To help the team pack up." he said. Ava nodded.

"I want to go. I want to make sure he's really gone." she said. Eliot nodded. "We'll take my car." She opened the garage, and got into a beautiful black Camero. New. Eliot shook his head, and got in the passenger side.

When they got to the house, the team was already packing up most of the stuff. They all looked up at Eliot and Ava when they walked in. There was a moment of silence. "The police got O'Conner. They have the files. The man that drove him there made a full confession. Left us out of the story." Hardison said. Ava nodded, and hugged herself.

"It's hard to believe that it's really over. That we're really free of him." she whispered.

"It'll get better. You're young. You've got a lot of life ahead of you. A free life now." Sophie said, smiling reassuringly. Ava shrugged, unsure of how she felt. Ava went outside, and stood on the beach, staring out over the water. There were storm clouds blowing in over the water, and she watched as the menacing grey of them sneaked up towards the shore. The team left her alone for a while, finishing packing up. When the house was empty again, Eliot gathered his strength, and went to say his goodbye.

She was still standing there, that wonderful tumble of curls blowing in the wind that had picked up, the ivory of her cheeks touched with roses. She turned to face him when he walked out. They stared at each other a moment. "Finished?" The word came out a broken, and barely audible. Ava cleared her throat, and tried again. "Are you finished?" she asked. He nodded. Ava took a deep breath. "What happens now?" she asked.

"We leave. We go back to Boston. Where we… I, belong." he said.

"Boston." she murmured.

"Yeah." Eliot's heart fractured as he watched the tears slip silently down her cheeks. "Ava…"

"Don't." She sobbed. "Please don't. I couldn't bear it if you apologized." she said. "For the past two days, all I've heard is people telling me that I should look past this, see that you love me. I've seen that look on your face, all ashamed, and lost. But I can't stop thinking about the way that the restraints felt around my arms and legs when you tried to hand me over to the people that wanted me dead. Or the way that I felt when I found out that you'd betrayed me. I can't get those feelings to stop spinning through me." she said. She sobbed again. "But I can't stop loving you either!" she cried. "God! Why?" she screamed. "Why did you have to make me love you?" she demanded. Eliot squeezed his eyes shut.

"I didn't want to. I didn't… I never, ever wanted to hurt you like this." he said. "I wish I could say that I would go back, change it all. But I wouldn't. Because falling in love with you was the best memory I have ever, and probably will ever have. Even if that's all it can be now. A memory." he said. "It's probably better this way, anyways." he said.

"What?" Ava whispered.

"I'm not a good person, Ava. I'm a criminal. A con man. It doesn't matter what the motives are, or who I do the crimes for. I'm still a criminal. And I don't want you mixed up in that kind of life. You already saw too much of it when your father was around. You don't need that in your life. It's better that you hate me." he said roughly. He looked up briefly at the angry sky as a growl of thunder rolled over the waves.

Ava stared at him disbelievingly. "I love you, Ava. I will love you for the rest of my life, and never stop. But it's better this way." he repeated. He touched her cheek, and kissed her forehead, struggling ruthlessly against the waves of emotion swirling through him. She didn't flinch away from him, just stood perfectly still. Just as he turned to leave, the first drops of rain began to fall. By the time he got into the house, it was pouring.

The team stared at him as he walked in. "Let's go." he said.

"Eliot…" Sophie started.

"We're leaving. Now." he snarled. They all looked at each other, and reluctantly followed him outside to the cars. Just as Eliot was getting into his car, soaked to the bone, he saw Ava come running out of the house. She stood there for a moment, staring at him. Her hair curled in wild wet ropes, his shirt hanging limply around her, weighed down by rain. He looked at her one last time, trying to commit her face to memory. Then he got in the car, and started it up.

The team pulled out first, and he followed a few moments after. Ava jogged out to where the long drive met the actual driveway, so that Eliot could see her as he pulled away. And saw as she fell weakly to her knees. And felt as the last bit of strength, and feeling, inside him broke. He simply snapped, broken under the weight of that grief. He wondered vaguely if he'd ever be the same after he had left the woman he'd begun to think of as the last he'd ever love.

Ava watched him pull away, standing in the rain that chilled her to the bone, and trembled uncontrollably. There wasn't a thought in her mind, only an overwhelming feeling of wrong. It was wrong. He was leaving, and it was _wrong_. She couldn't explain it, couldn't even justify it. It was just, pure and simply _wrong_. Her heart shattered, splintered into a thousand tiny pieces after she'd just managed to piece the first broken pieces together. She fell to her knees with a desperate cry, and barely felt the harsh gravel that tore into the denim of her jeans, and then into her skin. Sobs tore free from her chest, and she leaned forward and held her head in her hands.

She didn't know how long she sat there, sobbing. But it was a long enough to have her frozen to the core from wet and rain. The storm raged around her, inside her, through her. Eventually she knew she had to get inside, or she'd get hypothermia. She somehow managed to heave herself to her feet, and stumbled inside the house. It was distressingly empty, barren of any and all life, and warmth. Ava collapsed in the middle of the room, and simply laid on the hardwood floor, weeping. At some point night fell, and sometime after that, she fell into a blissful oblivion of sleep. Her last coherent thought was that she would never be the same again. Never…

**Ending Note: **So, I hope you guys liked this chapter! And don't worry, this is most definately NOT the last chapter. So yeah. It's not the end. Hehehe. Reviews are always welcome! Love you guys! :D


	11. The Backer Ch 11

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity. **

**Author's Note**: Hey guys, how've you all been? Hope you've been good. I'm so proud of myself for writing this chapter so fast. I am awesome. Just saying. You know who else is awesome? My beta. Seriously, she's a beast. And all my reviewers are beasts too. Cuz you guys rock my socks off. Lol. XD I hope you guys like this chapter! Thanks for reading!

**The Backer**

_Six months later…_

Someone hated him. Eliot wasn't a particularly religious or spiritual man, but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was a higher power out there that hated his fucking guts. Not that he didn't deserve it, but still… Eliot ran his fingers through his hair, the rubbed his hands over his face. It had been six months since he'd left Ava behind; forced himself to do so. He had told himself that he would let her leave, and that he wouldn't try to find her. But he couldn't stop himself from keeping tabs on her. At least as much as he could. Since he'd left, she'd bounced around the globe faster and in more complicated patterns than a fucking bouncy ball.

She'd taken her mother and gone back to Ireland, as he thought in the beginning. And then, three weeks later, her mother had passed away. She'd buried her there, but had a memorial for her in New York, on her father's old estate. She'd torn the house down, and created a garden on the property. Eliot had been there three times in the past six months. He spent hours there on the odd day that he could get away, thinking, talking out loud to a dead woman. But he felt her there. And it comforted him to talk to her. Even when he couldn't see her.

Ava had stayed in Ireland for about a month, had apparently left Finn, the dog that looked more like a wolf, with a friend, and began flitting back and forth across the country. Then she'd flown to France, England, Italy, Greece, Spain, Romania, the UK, Germany. Touching all the major cities within, then moving on again. She'd gone to India for a while, then on to Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney, Cairo, bounced back across the ocean, and gone to almost every country in South America. He lost track of her often, getting her locations out of order, and days, sometimes weeks late. But most of the time, he knew in general where she was. They were almost all places he'd been to at one time another, and could picture where she might be, what she might be doing. That was the only thing he didn't know, and couldn't get information on. He had absolutely no idea what she was doing, wherever she was. He knew that she wasn't there only as a tourist, but that was it.

Over the six months, Eliot had thrown himself bodily into work. He pushed, and pushed, and pushed himself, never stopping, never wanting to. Because if he did, that meant that he'd have too much time to think. Keeping an eye on her for his own peace of mind was one thing, so was going to visit her mother's memorial, who'd been a friend. But time to think meant time to grieve, and time to punish himself. If he did that, he'd break, and he might not be able to get back up again. There was a week about three months ago, when there'd been no job, and nothing for Eliot to do. He'd gotten shitfaced drunk, which was something that he almost never did, and gone home. Apparently he'd been so drunk that he hadn't noticed Parker tailing him.

She'd broken into his apartment just as he'd ploughed his fist into his wall. Parker had all but tackled him, and cuffed him to a chair so he couldn't hurt himself… or his furniture. After that, somehow the team always had a job to do, so that there was only ever a day, two at the most that Eliot had time to himself. It'd been tough, but the team had really saved him. They never once talked about Ava, but the silent support was more comforting then a thousand reassuring words. And slowly, very slowly, Eliot started to get his strength back. Slowly, so slowly he barely noticed, he started to heal. He might be left with one hell of a scar when it was all said and done, but at least it wouldn't be an open wound anymore.

Over the past week or two, Nate had been getting more and more distracted. Whenever someone on the team asked him what was going on, he'd just wave them off, and say that he'd tell them when he knew more. Then one day he called them all into the office to talk. When they were all at the table, Nate signaled Hardison to run the screens. "Okay guys, I think we have a problem." Nate said. The team exchanged looks.

"What kind of a problem?" Eliot asked.

"It seems there's another player in town." Nate said. Sophie raised a brow.

"Another player? Are you sure?" she asked.

"Positive."

"Is this what you've been so distracted about?" Parker asked.

"Yeah. I didn't want to say anything until I was sure. But someone's been running jobs here. No long cons, no team jobs, but this one is definitely a pro. Slickest son of bitch I've ever seen. They seem to be just starting up. Though it's hard to imagine that a novice is so damn good already. So far they're sticking to night clubs, and the night life there, getting a feel for the city." Nate nodded to Hardison, and he pulled up a few pictures. "So far, these are all the guys that have been hit." he said.

The team recognized most of them as both big and small time criminals, some were unknowns. "What's she running?" Eliot asked.

"A variety of things it looks like. I'm not entirely sure. We can't exactly asks the crooks what she did to them." Nate asked. The team nodded.

"So what's the plan of action? And why is this guy a problem? If they're taking down the bad guys, why is it a problem?" Hardison asked.

"Because, I'm worried that they're in over their head. Their moving way to far, way to fast. If they're not careful, they're going to get themselves killed." Nate said.

"So, what are we gonna do? Tutor them? Have a little con man study group?" Parker asked cheerfully. The sad thing was that she was probably completely serious. Nate gave her an odd look.

"Ah, yeah. Kind of. I'm not sure yet. I want to get eyes on this guy first. Get a feel for him." Nate said.

"Why are you all assuming that this is a man?" Sophie asked. Eliot, Hardison, and Nate all looked at each other.

"Ah, we're not. We're just ah… look, it takes too long to say he or she, okay?" Hardison said. Sophie gave him a dry look, but let it go.

"So do we know where h-" Eliot paused, and glanced at Sophie. "Ah, he or she, is?" he asked.

"We think that she sticking relatively close to one club in particular. It's called… ah, hmm…" Nate frowned at the name. "Ah, Hardison pull the name up please." he said.

"An Tua Nua." Sophie read. "It's Irish. It means New Beginning in Gaelic." she said.

"You speak Gaelic?" Parker asked.

"No. I've been to the club before." Sophie said.

"Oh."

"So, should we head there tonight?" Hardison asked.

"That's the plan." Nate said.

"Alright. Finally, a job at a dance club." Sophie said. "I've missed the night life." she said, smiling.

An hour later, the team was ready for a night in the club. Sophie had helped Parker, and put her in a little blue dress, and done something to her hair that made it soft and wavy. Sophie had curled her hair into soft cloud around her head, and put on a burgundy silk dress and a dark wool overcoat. Nate was in his usual casual suit, and Hardison and Eliot were both in their usual clothes, blending in just as they were. They were about to go inside, when Eliot glanced at the curb, and the froze. A Camero, midnight black, and new. "Eliot? You okay?" Sophie asked. Eliot shook off a feeling of déjà vu.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." he said. They continued walking forward, and when they got inside, they were hit with the overwhelming power of the music. The beat blared out of the speakers, and vibrated through the floor, and through everyone's body.

The team had to admit, it was a great place. The lights were down low over the dance floor, with colored spot lights dancing over the crowd. The bar was on the lower level, with beautiful dark wood, and comfortable stools. There was an upper level with tables for those who wanted to eat, or just chill without the crowd on the floor or by the bar. Being Saturday night, the club was packed, and the body heat was astounding. Everyone was moving, bodies all but slithering against each other in the low light. "Wow." Parker said. The team nodded, and split up to look for the target.

The problem was that they didn't have a clue what they looked like, or whether it was a man or a woman. But, they knew the behavior that they were looking for, and that would help. The trick was spotting him before he spotted them. Nate headed to the bar, (big surprise), Sophie and Parker went upstairs to the privet seating area, and Eliot and Hardison headed to the dance floor. Eliot did his best to keep memories from the last time he was in a night club out of his mind, but it was difficult.

Hardison was all smiles, enjoying himself, and bouncing a little to the beat of the music. "Come on, Eliot. You gotta blend in. Move a little." Hardison said, clapping him on the back. Eliot tossed him a dirty look, and Hardison rolled his eyes. Eliot sighed, and closed his eyes as the memories over took him. A night club, not to different from this one. The same vibrating beat, a crowd much like this one, all moving seemingly together, as one. Ava… Her hair ramrod straight, wearing tight jeans, leather boots, and a black leather jacket. Singing her heart out, dancing until his blood turned to fire in his veins.

Eliot opened his eyes, and froze. What the hell? Was he hallucinating? He had to be. He had been thinking of Ava, and that was why… that was why he thought he saw her. Eliot shook his head. It was just some other redhead in a black leather jacket. She was pretty, Eliot mused. Her back was to him, dancing seductively with a shady looking guy who was clearly enjoying himself. Her hair was straight as rain, down to her waist, and a vivid red he'd seen before. Eliot sighed, and was about to continue the search for the target when the redhead turned around. Eliot froze as he stared into the glittering green depths of Ava O'Conner's eyes.

The air froze in his lungs, and his heart slammed into his throat. She stared right into his eyes, and began walking towards him. "Eliot, have you seen anything?" Nate asked over the com. Eliot couldn't speak. Couldn't open his mouth to speak. "Eliot?" Nate repeated. Ava walked directly up to him, and stopped just in front of him. She smiled sultrily, a tilt of full lips that said, "How do you like me now?"

"Hello, Eliot. How've you been?" she asked, sounding a little… smug. Eliot's eyes were wide, and there wasn't a clear thought in his head.

"A… Ava?" he breathed. Her laugh was throaty, and slid over his skin like silk.

"Yes, that would be me. Surprised?" she asked. Eliot still couldn't think.

"Did you just say Ava?" Nate asked over com. "Eliot, is Ava here?" he asked.

"Uh…" Eliot tried to think of a way to stall.

"Oh, is that the team?" she asked. She leaned forward until she was pressed against him. A slow song played over the speakers, and Ava wrapped her arms around him. Eliot shuddered, thinking that it had been way too damn long since he'd felt her wrapped around him. "Hold me." she whispered. Eliot's arms moved of their own accord, and wrapped around her tightly. He felt her tremble, and smiled a bit, thinking that at least he wasn't the only one affected. Ava leaned up on her toes, until her lips were right up against his ear. "Hello everyone. How've you been?" she asked.

"Ava? Ava, what are you doing here?" Sophie and Parker asked at once.

"I'm having a little fun while I'm here in Boston. After you all left, I did some thinking. I got bored. After all, I had never really had a real job. I needed something to do. And while you might have… not ruined, but downsized my life, I can't deny that your intentions were good. And all in all, this sort of job is well within my skill set." Ava said.

"Oh my god. You're the player in town." Eliot said. Ava grinned.

"Very good, Eliot." Ava looked over her shoulder at the man she'd been dancing with. He looked like smoke was about to come out of his ears. She smiled. "Do you remember the last time we were in a night club together?" Ava whispered.

"Yes."

"Do you remember what I told you?" she asked. Eliot thought for a moment.

"Which part?" he asked. Ava laughed again, and nipped at his ear. Eliot shuddered. Then she kissed him, and Eliot was yanked down under into a pool of pure lust, and immediately drowned. God, she tasted exactly like he remembered. Secrets, woman, sea, and sex. She pulled away on a moan, and smiled.

"Catch me if you can." she whispered. She gave Eliot a good solid shove, and distracted as he was, as staggered as he was, he was shoved a good two feet back. He recovered just in time to see her spin around, sending her hair flying, and then she was gone. Eliot scanned the crowd for her, but could only see a glimpse of that vivid red hair before even that glimpse disappeared. Eliot knew that it'd be useless to try and find her. If Ava didn't want to be found, then she wouldn't be.

"Eliot. Meet us outside." Nate said. Eliot made a sound that resembled a growl, and made his way through the crowd and out into the cool Boston night air.

The team was waiting for him in the parking lot. "What the hell happened?" Nate demanded.

"I, I don't know. I didn't even know she was back in the country. She was supposed to be in South America still." Eliot said.

"Wait, what do you mean she was supposed to be in South America? Have you been keeping tabs on her?" Hardison demanded. Eliot glared.

"Of course I've been keeping tabs on her. If you were in my place, wouldn't you?" Eliot asked. Hardison thought, then nodded.

"Yeah, I guess." he said.

"So, where has she been?" Sophie asked.

"Everywhere. She'd been all over the globe in the last six months." Eliot said.

"What's she been doing?" Parker asked.

"Hell if I know. No one I talked to could tell me." he replied.

"Shit. She was probably getting training." Nate said.

"Training?" Parker asked.

"Didn't you get training before you tried to steal anything?" Eliot asked.

"Not necessarily before, but I've had training." Parker said. The team shook their heads. That was Parker for you.

Sophie sighed. "What I don't understand is why? Why would she want this life? Especially after what we've put her through." she said.

"You heard her. She's never had a real job before. None of us have, either. She's a fighter. But the one thing she didn't have that she wanted more than anything was experience. Now that she's got it, this job would be one of her only options that made sense. She's clearly got some skill with lying and hacking, and I'm not sure what her skills in stealing were before this, but according to what you've been told, she's one of the best now." Eliot said. Nate nodded.

"Besides, it doesn't really matter why. What we need to know, is what now." Nate said. The team jumped slightly when Eliot's phone rang. He looked at the number, saw that it was blocked.

"Hello?"

"I need to talk to your team. Where should I meet you?" Eliot heard Ava's voice over the phone.

"Why not here?" he asked.

"Don't be an idiot, Eliot. You and I both know here's not exactly the safest place. Especially not after I just stole something from someone who's not going to be very happy when he discovers it gone." Ava sounded smug again.

"Fine. We have an office downtown." Eliot gave her the address. "Meet us there in thirty minutes." he said. He hung up the phone, and looked at the team. They nodded, and all got in their cars.

The drive was hell. Eliot's mind spun, and spun, like a speeding car on ice, but he couldn't get his head wrapped around it. Ava was here. In his city. Working! He couldn't believe. And she was good. Nate had told the team the few stories that he could find on the drive over to the club. And she was damn good. Eliot rubbed his hand over his mouth, remembering the way her mouth had fused to his, just like it had all the times he'd kissed her before. God, how could he have forgotten how good it was with her? How could have ever forgotten?

When he got to the office, everyone was already there, except for Ava. They went upstairs to wait for her. They waited for about ten minutes, and then she came waltzing through the door. They stared at her. "There's a coded lock on the door." Hardison said. Ava grinned.

"Cake." she said. He gave her a fairly insulted look, but said nothing. "So, it's a nice place you've got here. Although, I am wondering about the painting of the old guy that looks like Nate." she said. The team looked at each other, then at Parker. "Ah. That makes sense." she said.

Ava walked forward, and sat in a chair across from Eliot. "So, did you guys miss me?" she asked. Nate cleared his throat.

"Uh, well, we are wondering what it is exactly that you want." Nate said. Ava smiled. She reached into her coat pocket, and pulled out a large, glittering diamond necklace. She set it on the table. Parker's eyes widened.

"Oooooh!" she cried. She snatched it up, and examined it carefully. "A beautiful setting, and arrangement. Beautiful cut, color, quality. All and all adding up to about eighty carats." she said. Hardison whistled softly.

"Damn. Where'd you get that?" he asked.

"Conned it off a guy in An Tua Nua." she said, smirking.

"What'd you plan him for?" Sophie asked.

"What else? The Mistress con." she said.

"The Mistress con takes at least three weeks." Sophie said.

"I abbreviated it. The jerk off was married. He comes into the club every night to find himself a little playboy bunny to go to a hotel with. He's got buckets of money, which makes him think he's god. I'm not his usual type, but I gave him something he couldn't resist." She said. The team frowned, and glanced at each other.

"What's that?" Nate asked.

"A challenge. Girls would flock to him, beg to go home with him. I ignored him completely." she said.

"Let him come to you." Sophie said, smiling in appreciation. Ava nodded.

"Precisely. When Eliot showed up, it actually provided a perfect opportunity. I had let him convince me to dance. Then I pretended… well, not really pretended, but you know what I mean. I pretended that Eliot was my ex boyfriend, and that he wanted to get back together with me. The mark didn't like that. I told him he had to give me something that Eliot couldn't. Hence…" she gestured to the necklace.

"Damn. Pulling off the mistress job alone and in under three hours? You're good." Hardison said. Ava grinned.

"It gets better. The necklace belongs to his wife." she said, smirking. The team winced collectively.

"Ouch." Parker said. Ava laughed softly.

"Yes, it does. For him anyways." she said. She took the necklace back, and smiled at Parker's sad expression.

"I'm confused how this related to what you want with us." Nate said.

"I want a job." she said.

There was dead silence in the room for a moment. "What?" Eliot demanded, shooting to his feet. Ava regarded him coolly, her posture that of a jungle cat eying a particularly uncooperative piece of prey.

"You heard me just fine. I want to work with you." She said, meeting his furious gaze steadily. Eliot shook with rage. One of the two reasons that Eliot had left Ava, or rather let her get away, was because he hadn't wanted her to be a part of this life. Her working on her own was one thing. Chances of being a successful con artist, especially a new one, were about 40% on your own. With a team, those chances doubled.

"Why?" He demanded.

"Because the payoff and chances of success are doubled when you have a team. And I've already worked a job with you once. I know how you work, and now you know how I work. I know you're damn good, and you know that I am too. It's a win-win situation." Ava said.

"A standard, successful, crew is a five men and or women." Nate said, glancing at Sophie.

"You're forgetting one crucial person." Ava said.

"And who's that?" Nate asked.

"The backer." Ava said. Nate scoffed.

"The backer is practically a myth. An urban legend." He said.

"I'm sorry, for those of us who have no idea what you're talking about, could you explain?" Sophie asked.

"The backer is supposed to be a sixth member of a team. Someone who has moderate skills in all areas of the con. Someone who, if need be, could do the job of one of the other's on the team, nearly as well as that member. The backer is supposed to be a safe guard, for if something goes wrong, or if the team is spread too thin and needs more man power." Nate said. He looked back at Ava. "But the backer is a myth." he said.

"Really? Did you know that the team that stole the Connemara diamond had a backer? So did the team that broke into the federal bank in D.C." she said. Parker's eyes widened.

"The Connemara diamond is the biggest diamond besides the Hope." she said. Ava nodded, and smiled.

"Yes, I know." she said. Parker turned to Nate, who looked rather thoughtful.

"Nate, we could be better. I mean, we're really good, but we could be better. The best, like, ever. We could make more money." she said. Nate glanced at her. "And save more people too." Parker said sheepishly. Nate rolled his eyes. Ava smiled.

This was going rather nicely. The whole team was considering, except for Eliot. He was still staring her down, looking gorgeous, and furious. Ava smiled slightly, flashing back to the club. Damn but it had felt good to kiss him again. To see that look of pure shock and lust on his face. Ava stretched luxuriously. She might still be furious about what he did to her, but that didn't mean she didn't still think he was the finest specimen of male she'd ever seen in her life. She might not be over him, and it might have hurt a lot more than she thought it would just to sit in the same room with him, but that didn't mean she would let anyone else know just how much it hurt. She'd get through it. She'd move on. She was strong. She'd faced more than she'd ever faced in her life in the past six months. She was stronger now. And no matter how much her heart ached when she looked at him, she could get through this. She wanted this. She wanted this job. She wanted somewhere that she belonged. More than anything.

"I need the team's approval." Nate said. Ava nodded.

"I expected as much." she said. Nate looked at Sophie. She nodded. Hardison and Parker as well. Eliot didn't meet Nate's gaze, just stared at Ava.

"Eliot, I need your vote. If you're not okay with this, we won't do it." Nate said.

Eliot was silent for a moment. "I need to speak with you first." he said. Ava shrugged.

"Fine." she said. They walked out of the glass conference room together, and shut the door behind them. They rounded the corner so that they were out of sight, and stopped in the hallway. "So?" Ava asked.

"I'll vote yes on one condition." Eliot said, his husky, southern honey voice sending shivers down her spine. Jesus, after six months apart, he still affected her like she was some hormonal teenage girl with a crush on a rock star.

"Alright, name it." she said.

"Tell me why." he said. Ava considered a moment.

"Why not?" she countered.

"Don't bullshit me, Ava. Tell me why."

"I am telling you. I have the skills, I have newly acquired experience, I have the motivation, and you have the available spot." she said.

"But what is your motivation?" Eliot persisted. Ava sighed.

"I have nowhere else to go." she said. "You put my father away in prison, where he belongs. Most of the core team, who've I've more or less considered my family, are there too. I understand that they have to be there too, though thankfully not for as long. My mother is dead. I've accepted that too, as best I can. But now, I've got nothing. Nothing but my skills. And the only job I can get with those skills is a cop, or a con artist. And seeing as how I have so much difficulty with rules, law enforcement isn't really an option for me. So that leaves a con." she said.

Eliot saw the need in her eyes, and recognized it. That need to belong. He'd seen the look staring back at him in the mirror plenty of times over the years. It had been that need, that had not only had a hand in bringing the team together, but also in keeping together. They were people that had never fit in, in the regular world. Had never had a real job, or a real, solid relationship. They were connected through those shared holes in their lives, and they had helped each other fill them through the job, and through real, honest friendship.

Eliot sighed, and scooped his fingers through his hair. He couldn't say no. He wouldn't, couldn't deny her. Not when she looked at him like that. Eliot faced her again. "Alright. My vote is yes." he said quietly. Ava's eyes softened, and Eliot felt it like a kick to the chest.

"Thank you, Eliot. Don't make this anything more than it is, but thank you." she said. Eliot nodded, and Ava slipped past him, and went back into the conference room. Eliot followed close behind.

After he and Ava were seated again, Nate nodded. "So? What is your vote?" he asked.

"Yes." Eliot said. Just like that. Ava felt a pressure that had tightened over her heart lessen, just a little. Parker, Hardison, and Sophie smiled, and welcomed Ava warmed. Nate nodded, and there was a ghost of a smile around his mouth and eyes. For despite what he let the others think, he really did like Ava, and he knew that as soon as Eliot let her, Ava would be good for him. And unless he was mistaken, which he wasn't often; soon, very soon, they'd get things together. And then, they'd be a sight to see. There were some cons that worked very badly when they were involved romantically. And then there were some that were infinitely better. Nate had a feeling that Ava and Eliot would be the ones that were better.

Nate cleared his throat, and the tea refocused. "Come in tomorrow, we'll work out the kinks, and I'll try to get a small job together for us to take a test run with. To make sure we can really do this." he said. Ava nodded.

"Understood. Boss." she said, grinning. Nate smiled a little, and shook his head.

"Nate will do fine." he said. She smiled, and nodded. She tuned, and walked out. Nate looked at the team. "You guys, ah… Okay with this? Really?" he asked.

"I like Ava." Sophie said. "I think she'll make to be a damned good thief."

"I second that." Parker said. "She's cool. And she's good."

"And modest." Hardison mumbled. He was clearly still upset about his lock. Parker snickered, and Hardison glared at her.

"Eliot?" Nate asked. Eliot looked at him, unhappy but resigned.

"I don't have much of a choice." he said.

"There's always a choice." Sophie said, touching his hand lightly. Eliot shook his head.

"Not this time." he said. He stood, and walked out the door.

Sophie looked at Nate. "Are we making the right decision here? For the both of them?" she asked. Nate sighed.

"I hope so. We'll see how this plays out. Go from there." he said. Sophie nodded.

Across town, Ava walked into her apartment with the view overlooking the Boston harbor. It was a gorgeous place, all hardwood, old architecture, open space, lots of windows. Ava had been holding it together the entire drive home, but now she could fall apart in peace. She fell to her knees, and held her arm across her stomach, trying to physically hold herself together. She didn't weep, didn't cry out, just grit her teeth against the pain. She'd learned over her time spent traveling to control pain worse than this. She realized it felt similar to being shot, or perhaps stabbed, both of which she'd experienced. That sharp, white hot pain was like nothing else, but beneath that was a shock, a breathless surprise that made it all the worse. Ava had a lot of scars now, not just mental or emotional, but physical as well.

Breathe through it, Ava told herself. Just breathe through it. She took a few deep breath, and did her best to center herself. It was hard, but she did it. She slowly stood, and made her way into her bedroom… which was basically a mattress with sheets and a few pillows on it. Plus a suitcase full of bare essentials. That was really all she'd brought with her on her travels. The suitcase that is. She'd just bought the mattress and sheets yesterday. Everything else was in a storage unit in New York. Ava stripped off her clothes, and pulled on sweats and a tee shirt. It had been Eliot's. A family friend told her that there was only one way to try and get over him. You couldn't avoid the memories, or the pain that came with them. You had to embrace them, accept them, adapt to the pain, and then move on. So far it'd been working pretty good. Then she'd seen him, and all her hard work had almost crumbled. Almost.

Ava sighed, and padded in her bare feet over to the window. She had a gorgeous view of Boston at night, with the river shimmering in the city lights. It was a beautiful city. Not nearly as big as New York, but not small by any standards. It was a beautiful town with a lot to offer. And it was Eliot's city. Ava rubbed her cool cheeks with her hands. It was hard. She couldn't deny it. But she'd work through it. And it'd be okay. It would all be okay. She'd have a job, and she'd have a fresh start. And maybe, just maybe, she'd have friends.

Ava took one last look at the view, then went into the kitchen. She pulled what sparse food she had out of her fridge, and made herself a small snack. She wasn't particularly hungry, but she knew she'd get a headache if she didn't have something. She had half a glass of wine, and enjoyed the shimmering feeling of relaxation that it gave her. She turned off the lights, turned on the gas fireplace, and slipped into bed. The sheets were cool, the bed and pillows were soft, and the fire was warm, and the light was soft and gold. Ava snuggled down into the sheets, and sighed. All in all, today had been pretty successful. She'd stolen a necklace that would allow her to buy her apartment building – all of it – outright, and pay for all the bills for at least two months, and she got a job where the pay would be as good if not better than that necklace.

Money had never been much of an issue with her, and still wasn't. She had a nice, okay, very nice, trust fund from her mother, and she'd… 'inherited' let's say, all of her father's assets since he went to prison. She could retire and never work another day in her life. But she wasn't satisfied doing that. She needed work to do, a project, or even just something that kept her from killing herself out of boredom. In New York she'd had her charity work, and then when her mother had gotten ill, she'd taken care of her. And then of course there had been Eliot. Ava winced, but pushed that out of her mind.

In no time at all, Ava was drifting on the lovely cloud of between sleep and awake. The warmth of the fire made her groggy, the bed was sinfully soft, and she was alone in a new city, and had no idea what tomorrow would bring. Ava didn't want to have to admit it, but she hated lying to herself, so she had to admit that Eliot leaving had left a hole inside her. And now, even though they weren't together, just seeing him had begun to fill that hole. She should have been having a heart attack, stroke, something! She was still wounded, still healing. But somehow, she felt more hole than she had at any point in the last six months.

**Ending Note: **Hey guys! I hope you liked this chapter! Were you surprised that Ava came back to join the team? What do you guys think will happen on the test run; do you think they'll work good together? What do you think will happen between Ava and Eliot?

Anyways, hope you liked this chapter! Thanks again to everyone who has been reviewing, and reading, and all that awesome and amazing stuff. I seriously think that I am addicted to reviews. I need help. Do you think that there's such as thing as Review Addicts Anonymous? If so, I need to sign up. Lol. But please, FEED MY ADDICTION! Lol. Love you guys! :D


	12. The Dry Run Job Ch 12

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity. **

**Author's Note**: Hey guys! I hope you all are doing awesome! :D Sorry this took a little longer than usual to get out. Things have been kinda hectic for me, but here's the newest chapter! =D I hope you all like it! Make sure to read the End Note, cuz it's IMPORTANT. So yeah. XD

**The Dry Run Job**

The next morning, Ava woke feeling both anxious, and excited. She wanted to work with the team, not only because she needed a job, and this one was the best fit, but because she found that even after all that they put her through, she kind of liked them. And she found herself having a little performance anxiety, because she wanted them to like her too. She was quickly beginning to view Parker as a little sister, and though she had yet to interact with Hardison much, she could tell that his sense of humor would allow them to get along great. Sophie was by far her favorite of the group, because she was the team's home. It didn't matter where the team was; Sophie was always the one that made them feel at home. Sort of like a surrogate mom, protecting and soothing, and of course guiding. And if Sophie was the home, Nate was the foundation. He kept them together, at the same time that he held them together. And Eliot... Eliot was of course the protector. Even through her biased eyes she could see that. He would give pretty much anything to protect the team. And Ava could that that was part of the reason he had hesitated last night, letting Ava work there. Ava was the new kid on the block, and being new meant putting the rest of the team in danger. Eliot was going to hate that.

Ava ran her fingers through her hair. One of the things that she had learned over the last six months was that she couldn't lie to herself. Is she was going to be in a profession that required lying _all the time_, the one person she absolutely could not lie to was herself. It was the only thing that kept her sane. And that meant facing and accepting some hard truths. Like the fact that she was still in love with Eliot. She may not like it, in fact she may hate it, but that didn't change a damn thing. Ava huffed out a breath. Hell, as long as she was being truthful with herself, she might as well accept the fact that she would probably always love him. Despite of what he'd done to her. Maybe because of it. Because no matter how much she wanted to hate him, she couldn't deny that he'd done everything he could to protect her.

Ava groaned, and rolled out of her makeshift bed. Being honest with herself sucked. She stalked over to where her land line was, and made a long distance phone call to Ireland. The friend that Finn was staying with was coming to the States for business, and he agreed to bring Finn along, so that Ava could pick him up and take him home. That was one of the perks of buying out your entire apartment building. The landlord was very understanding of pets. Ava showered in her beautiful, and not to mention huge, steam shower, and allowed herself to luxuriate a little bit. She deserved it, after all. Then she got down to business, and got ready for the day. Carefully applied makeup, and choice of clothes, (which she learned from some very helpful resources on her travels), then tucked a slick little blade into an ankle sheath hidden inside her boot. She had quickly learned never to go anywhere unarmed. Not to mention it was a nice little confidence boost. Nothing like a concealed weapon to put a spring in a girl's step. Ha!

Ava smiled and waved at the huge, bouncer like doorman at the front door, (who Ava knew was secretly a softie), and then slid into the butter-like leather of her Camero's seat. She sighed, and shivered delightedly as her baby snarled to life. She had developed quite the affection for cars. Had spent some time in garage in New York, with a friend of a friend just before she'd come to Boston. He'd taught her a lot about American muscle cars, and she found that she couldn't get enough. She'd never really been into mechanical things, but she discovered that there was something to be said about digging into an engine, especially with a friend, someone who you admired and respected. Ava peeled away from the curb, grinning like a fool.

When she got to the team's office, she found that the code on the front door had been changed. Ava rolled her eyes. As if that would stop her. She breezed through recracking the code, and all but danced in the door. When she walked into the all glass conference room, Hardison looked up, and threw his hands up in the air. "God dammit, I JUST changed that code!" he said. Ava grinned, and winked at him.

"You're gonna have to try a little harder than that to keep me out, sugar." she said. Hardison got all flustered, and stuttered. Ava laughed, and raised a brow when Eliot looked more than ready to snarl at the both of them. Testosterone spill on aisle four?

Ava turned and faced Nate. "So, what's my test run?" she asked. Nate looked to Hardison.

"Hardison?" Hardison pulled up an image of a man, and several electronic documents.

"This guy's name is Luke Cole. He works for a dirty judge. He's young, so he's got no wife, no kids, and was a star student at Yale. He just graduated, and moved here. He got the internship for the judge about six months ago." Hardison said. "I think his daddy works from some big law firm up state."

"The thing you need to know about Luke, is that he's very cautious, very narcissistic, and _hates_ working for this judge. _Hates_ it. The judge is older, and treats him like a child, which really get's this guy's back up."

"So what con do we run on him?" Ava asked.

"We can't run a pretty girl con, and we can't run a cop con, because he'll see right through those. We need to play on his biggest weakness." Sophie said.

"His pride." Ava said.

"Precisely. And then combine that with wanting to stick it to the judge. We're going to run the Bad Secretary con." Nate said. The team smiled in anticipation.

"You want to explain that to me?" Ava asked. Her mind was getting very bad mental images of her in a secretary suit trying to get some young stud to bend her over a judge's desk. And that was NOT going to work for her.

"It's relatively simple. We send you and Sophie in as a reporter and her assistant. Sophie asks some questions that hint at the judge being dirty."

"He may not like the judge, but if his dad works in a law firm, he's going to not to say a damn thing to a reporter."

"But that's where you come in. Sophie will throw a fit when Cole won't answer her questions, and will storm out. You stay behind, give him a business card, apologize for the scene, you know, play like you can't stand her." Nate said. Ava was beginning to see where this was going. "Then after a little schmoozing, throw in something about really wanting to rip the story right out from underneath from Sophie. Improvise. Work off his reaction. Let him lead. If all goes well, you'll get him to go to coffee to discuss the story, allowing Parker time alone in the judge's office to find incriminating evidence." Nate said. Ava nodded.

"Alright. Sounds easy enough." she said.

Nate handed her a tiny plastic nub, the color of skin. "This is a communication unit, or a com. Stick it in your ear, and you'll hear us, and we'll hear you." he said. "If you can do this job, you'll be a part of the team." Nate said. Ava took the com, and smiled.

"Are there team jerseys?" she asked. Nate snorted, and the team smiled.

"No. But we'll see if we can't get you a mug." he said. Ava grinned. "We'll do the job tomorrow. Give you a little time to settle in." he said. Ava nodded.

"I appreciate it. What time should I be here tomorrow?" she asked.

"Nine." Ava nodded again, and waved to the team before walking out.

Outside in the cool Boston air, Ava took a deep breath. She'd get some actual work done today. Pay a visit to the owner of her building, make him an offer he couldn't refuse. After all, while the architecture and the building itself was old, it had only been recently renovated for living. She had the top floor to herself, the bottom floor was the lobby, and the second floor was going to be renovated from a second living space in a week or so. But Ava thought with the money she got from that necklace that she could convince the owner to sell, and then she could open up the floor plan so that she could just extend her home into the second floor.

Ava thought that would do some shopping for décor for her apartment. Some of what she would be putting in would come from the storage unit in New York, which she had had shipped and would arrive any day. But she would want some new things that would better suit the feel of her new place. She thought some dark wood in the bedroom, antique style. Some wonderful deep cushioned couches. Comfortable, stylish, cozy, and gorgeous. She'd also need the basics for the kitchen and bathroom. Pots, pans, plates, shower curtain, towels, and food. She really needed to get some food in the house. First stop was to the man that owned her building though.

Things went beautifully. Her landlord was more than willing to talk shop when she'd told him about the obscene amount of money she was willing to pay him for the building. It had gone even better than she thought it would. Feeling very pleased with herself, Ava had walked in with cash, and walked out with a set of keys, and the number of a very highly recommended contractor that would help her with her plans. Ava blew out a satisfied breath, and made her way back to her building.

When she got there, Beck, her doorman, nodded to her. She smiled, and leaned against the front desk. "Hello, Beck." she said.

"Ma'am." he said.

"I have some news." she said. He raised a brow. "I've bought the building." she said. She saw a flicker of worry pass over his face, and then it was masked.

"What does that mean for me, ma'am?" he asked cautiously.

"It means, that I would like you to work for me." Ava said. She saw Beck visibly relax.

"Under what terms?" he asked. Ava grinned. She loved this guy.

"Well, you'd have a bit more responsibility. Since I'd be the only one living here, there would be a lot fewer people allowed in. I could have a list for you tonight, which may change of course. And, since there is more responsibility, I'd have to give you a raise, I supposed. I'm thinking, forty an hour?" she said. His eyes widened, then he quickly recovered.

"That would be agreeable." he said.

"And of course we'll have to improve that health plan of yours. I can't have my sole employee ill." Ava said. Beck grinned for the first time she'd meet him.

"Something tells me that that will go over wonderfully with my wife." he said. Ava beamed.

"You have a wife?" she asked. He nodded. "Do you have a picture?" she asked. He pulled out his wallet, and produced a picture of a lovely woman with a stunning smile, and skin the color of coffee. "She's gorgeous." Ava said. Beck flushed with pride.

"Thank you. We have a baby on the way." He said, obviously ecstatic with the prospect. Which was saying a lot, since this was the most emotion that Ava had ever seen him display. She'd known all along that he was a softie though.

"Then this is a perfect time for you to come to work for me." Ava said. "I'll take good care of you, Beck." she said. He smiled. "You can work your own hours, but I expect you to have someone here at all times to watch my home. There are some very valuable things, both intrinsically and sentimentally." Ava said. "And I want you to oversee the hiring of anyone personally." she said. Beck nodded, all business now.

"Of course(,) ma'am." Ava nodded.

"Good. I've had some storage units shipped here. Keep an eye out for them please. I gave the company the number here. In fact all numbers will come through the front phone from now on. I'll trust your judgment on who to send through to my line, and who to ignore. If you don't know, just ask." She said. He nodded.

They discussed a few more little details, and then Ava began walking to the stairs that led to her apartment. As she looked around the lobby, she thought of the empty space that was left just behind the wall. It was supposed to be renovated into another living space, or an employee lounge or sorts, but there was simply too much room for that to be the only thing there. Ava considered. Maybe she could put in some sort of gym there. After all, she had the money. As her mind danced with images of punching bags, treadmills, and dare she think it, a pool, she went on autopilot up to her personal space. She was just taking off her jacket and shoes when her land line rang. Really the only ones that had it were the front desk and her friend in Ireland. She looked at the caller ID, and saw that it was Beck. Wondering what he could want after she just finished talking to him, she picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Miss Ava? Uh, there's a woman down here who says that she works with you, but I'm not - HEY!" Ava heard scuffling, and then a new voice came on the line.

"Ava? It's Parker. Can I come up?" Ava heard. Parker? Ava rolled her eyes. She must have followed her here. She should have been paying more attention. She always used evasive techniques, but she'd gotten a little slack in the city. She must have missed Parker.

"Parker, put Beck back on the line."

"Beck?"

"The man at the desk."

"Oh. Sure." Ava heard some more shuffling, and then a very irritated sounding Beck came on.

"Hello?"

"Beck, send her up. She's safe. I think." She muttered the last part.

"Ok. She only got the phone 'cause I didn't want to hurt her." Beck said defensively.

"Of course, Beck. I believe you." Ava said, grinning. There was some grumbling, and then they both hung up.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on Ava's door. Ava answered it to find a cheerfully waiting Parker. "Hi! I followed you here from the office." she said. Ava sighed, and moved aside so that Parker could come in.

"So I gathered." Ava replied. "What do you want?" she asked.

"I just wanted to see where you live. Usually we all don't know where we live, because of the whole privacy thing, but I thought you might not mind since you place isn't super secret or anything." Parker said. Ava stared.

"You wouldn't have known my place wasn't super secret if you hadn't followed me." she said. Parker thought about that.

"I guess not. So it's a good thing it's not a secret. Especially because I think Eliot might have followed me." Ava's heart tripped annoyingly.

"Eliot followed you?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"I think so, but I can't be sure. He's really good at the whole stealth thing." Parker said. Ava resisted the urge to smack her hand to her forehead. Parker was so far behind naive, it wasn't even funny. Okay, it was a little funny.

"So... What now?" Ava asked. "You've seen where I live, so..."

"Well... I don't know. I thought we could, you know, hang out." Parker said, seeming unsure of herself. Ava blinked.

"Hang out?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Umm, why?" Parker shifted uncomfortably.

"I don't know. I mean, you're the new guy. Uh, girl. I thought maybe you'd want to know more about the team or, just... I don't know!" she said, sounding exasperated. "I... I like you. You're the first person besides Sophie who I've wanted to be around. You know, like..." She searched for a word.

"Friends?" Ava tried.

"Yeah. Like friends. I don't really have many of those. The team doesn't really count, because they're more like family by now." Parker said. Ava considered, and then sighed.

"How good are you at moving furniture?"

"I don't know. I've never tried." she replied.

"Well, we're going to find out." Ava said.

She moved over to the phone, and dialed the front desk. She figured that if her stuff wasn't here yet, she and Parker would go shopping for the new stuff. "Yes, Miss Ava?" Beck asked.

"Beck, has my stuff arrived yet? Or has the storage company called?" she asked.

"Not so far. Oh wait, hang on a sec." he said. Ava was put on hold, and waited patiently.

"There's a truck outside, it's from the storage company." Beck said a few moments later.

"Excellent timing. How do you feel about hauling furniture?" Ava asked. There was a pause.

"Do I get paid extra?" Beck asked.

"Of course." There was a sigh.

"I expect lunch too." he grumbled, then hung up. Ava grinned, and hung up too.

After an hour of hauling boxes up stairs, a lot of cursing, laughing, and strained muscles, Ava, Parker, and Beck went downstairs to start on the furniture. Parker and Beck got along famously, and Ava got the feeling that Beck thought Parker was sweet and naive, in the little sister sense. Little did he know that she was one of the best thieves in the world. Ava walked through the lobby, her mind drifting, Beck and Parker close behind. Then she froze when she saw who was leaning oh so casually against the front desk. Parker and Beck ran into her. "Miss Ava?" Beck asked. "What's wrong?" When she didn't reply, he followed her gaze to where Eliot stood. He instantly went into protector mode, and moved in front of Parker and Ava. "Is this man a problem?" he asked, his face and voice hardening. Ava adored Beck, and knew he was the best of guys, but even she was a little intimidated by the look he had pinned to Eliot. She made a mental note not to get on his bad side.

Ava shook herself out of her daze. "No, Beck. He's... he's safe too." she said.

"Are you sure?" he murmured. Ava sighed.

"Yeah." The one thing she never had to worry about when it came to Eliot was him hurting her. Physically, anyways. It simply wasn't in him. She walked up to him, trying to look confident, and casual. It was damned hard. "What are you doing here, Eliot?" he met her hard gaze evenly.

"I followed Parker here." he said, honestly. "After watching you three haul all those boxes, I thought you could use some help." he said. That was mostly true. He left out the part where it had taken him this long to work up the nerve to come in. Her place was intimidating, but that wasn't the problem. He knew that she wanted him to stay out of her life, but he couldn't seem to be able to stay away. Ava gave him a long, considering look.

"You can help with the furniture." was all she said. She figured that four strong backs were better than three. And she knew from personal experience that Eliot's back was VERY strong.

Ava avoided working in tandem with Eliot, and instead left him with Beck, and worked with Parker. Beck seemed very wary of Eliot, which was probably his protective streak at work, but seemed to warm up to him after a while. It must have been another one of those secret guy codes that no woman would ever understand, and only get a headache if she tried. Once everything was unpacked from the truck, it left, and the four of them stood in Ava's space, looking around. Ava had already had them sort things into a keep and discard pile. She'd decided to put her old bedroom furniture in the spare room, and keep most of the living room stuff. It went well with the apartment. Already, the big, overstuffed black couch, love seat, and arm chair were arranged strategically around the room. Beck and Eliot had worked together to install her big screen T.V above her fireplace mantel. Parker and Ava had hung the deep plum drapes on a black wrought iron rod, which matched the plum throw pillows on the furniture. The mahogany end and coffee tables were already in place as well, and Ava already had plans for a few lamps, and rugs to put here and there.

She'd kept some of the things from the kitchen back at the estate, and those things were put away, and Ava had a mental list for new things that she'd need. She'd already unpacked and put out some her little knick knacks as well, but most she'd keep for the library she was planning, and her bedroom of course. Her bedroom and bathroom were still left bare, the spare bedroom filled with her old things, and the space she had decided to use as an office was also bare. She had put the big formal dining room set out in the dining area though. She'd always loved that table, even if she hadn't always liked what happened when she sat at it.

Ava and Eliot's eyes met and held. Parker and Beck stood together awkwardly. "SO," Parker began loudly. "Beck, why don't you show me what plans you have for security." she said. Beck nodded, eager to leave the room where the tension could be cut with a knife.

"I was thinking of installing a Smithson system." he said. Parker snorted with laughter.

"Oh boy, do I have things to teach you." she said. Ava only half listened as they continued talking and walked down the stairs. As always, Eliot had her immediate attention.  
For a few moments, they stood on opposite ends of the room.

"I really hate this." Eliot said, frustration clear on his face. Ava nodded.

"Me too."

"So what are we going to do about it?" Ava thought for a moment.

"I honestly don't know." Eliot dragged his hand through his hair, a sign of frustration and determination for him.

"Ava... I know things are rough between us. But... but if we're going to work together, I want to make an effort to at the very least be your friend. I want to be there for you, even if it just means being able to move your damn furniture for you. I want to be with you Ava, even if it's purely as a friend, until..." he let that hang in the air a moment.

"Yeah. Until." Ava agreed.

"So... try with me?" he asked. Ava smiled tentatively.

"Yeah. Trying is a start. Besides, I'm going to be buying more furniture." she said. At that they both laughed, and Ava felt the tension drain out of her. She missed this. Missed laughing with him. He had a fabulous smile, and it made her feel warm. Friends were a start. But she wondered if that would really be the end. She doubted it.

The next day, Ava was roaring to go. She already knew she needed the job to save her from boredom, but until then she didn't realize how much. She met the team at the office by eleven, dressed in a casually sexy office outfit. Ava had selected a deep blue skirt and jacket suit that highlighted her light skin and vivid hair, and a pair of shamelessly sexy black pumps, and had swiped on sinfully red lipstick for a little extra 'umph'. She'd then smoked up her eyes, and used just a hint of rouge. All three males on the team paused and took a second look at the creamy expanse of leg that her skirt revealed. Sophie smiled in approval, and Parker... well, Parker was Parker.

Ava sat down, and crossed one leg over the other, and she thought Eliot might have gone crossed eyed. "So, I know the plan, you guys know the plan, so I vote we get this con in gear." Ava said. She felt twitchy, and wanted to get moving. Nate nodded.

"Alright. So, Sophie's already called and made an appointment with Luke, so he's already primed for the story pitch. Ava, you do your part, lift the key card, slip it to Parker, and keep Luke out of his office _at all costs_, until Parker has gotten into the safe, and is clear. Got it?"

"Got it." she said.

"Alright, let's get going then. I'll be stationed outside the building, Hardison will be in the van… sorry, Hardison will be with _Lucille_, the van, Parker will be just outside the judge's office, and after Sophie gets out, she'll be with me. Eliot will be with Parker, ready to intervene if Luke gets rough with you, though I can't image why he would. And remember, we'll all be able to hear you through the com. And there's no need to yell." he said. Ava smiled, wondering how many times their ears had rung when someone forgot they could speak quietly.

Ava, Sophie, and Nate all rode together in Nate's car, and Parker, Eliot, and Hardison went in… Lucille? Was she the only one who thought that naming a van was a little… odd? And Lucille? Really? Anyways, Ava felt a jittery sort of excitement fill her, but she did her best to keep it under wraps. She'd been on dozens of jobs before, but now she was a part of a team. And that was a big thing to her. Teams relied on each other, depended on each other, trusted each other. And Ava didn't have anyone like that left in her life. So, this was exciting.

They pulled up to the courthouse, and Sophie and Ava got out, and Nate left to park. Sophie and Ava strode in confidently, using the forgeries they had to get through the front door. The pass card to a judges chamber was much more high security, and therefore much harder to recreate. Hence, the plan to steal it. They went up the stairs, and found the judge's office relatively easily. Ava marveled at the hustle and bustle of everything, and how everything seemed so urgent and immediate. They knocked on the door, and waited.

A young man in his mid twenties, with golden blond hair, cool blue eyes, and a young, handsome face answered. Ava thought that it was depressing that she only felt mildly interested in him. He was very attractive, and she knew he was available from research that Hardison had done. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at herself. "Yes?" he asked. Sophie immediately took charge, true to the role she was playing.

"Hello, Mr. Cole. I'm Catherine Blake, reporter for the Boston Times. We spoke earlier?"

"Ah yes, Ms. Blake. And, who is this?" he asked, his eyes flickering with interest as he spotted Ava.

"Oh, this is just my assistant, Megan. Don't mind her, she's just here to take notes." Sophie said, waving her off. Ava subtly rolled her eyes. Luke's eyes flashed, and Ava resisted the urge to smile. Hook, line, and sinker.

"Come on in." he said coolly. Sophie smiled, and walked in, ignoring Ava completely.

They all got settled, and Sophie sighed irritably. "Well get out your notebook." she hissed. She smiled apologetically at Luke. "Sorry about her." she said. Luke met her gaze coldly, and cast a sympathetic glance at Ava. She smiled in appreciation. Then they got down to business. "So, Luke, what can you tell us about your boss?" Sophie asked.

"He's a good judge, fair, though a little old fashioned." he said. It was clear he was lying, because his jaw clenched every time he said something flattering about the judge, making it clear that he didn't believe a word he was saying. Ava jotted down notes.

"What do you mean by old fashioned?" Sophie asked.

"You know, the 'good ole' boy system'." he said. "Whiskey and cigars kind of thing."

"I see. And how does he feel about having such a young assistant?" Sophie asked, beautifully blending just a touch of disdain with a coolly neutral tone. Luke's eyes narrowed.

"He can be tough. But he's a good judge. On the phone you said that you were interested in an article showcasing his talents." he said.

"Yes. But I didn't specify what talents, did I? What can you say about the rumor that the judge has been participating in some… extracurricular activities?" Sophie asked. Luke closed off almost immediately.

"No comment." he said.

"Come on, now, Luke. We both know that the judge treats you like dirt. Wouldn't you like to get him back for all those hours of work, with no appreciation, and terrible pay?" Sophie asked. Luke glared at her.

"I'm not an idiot. This sort of thing will come back to bit me in the ass. Now get out of this office." Luke snarled. Sophie stood indignantly.

"Well, I can see why you're treated so poorly. No initiative." Sophie turned on her heel, and left the room all in a huff.

Ava sighed softly, and stood. "I'm sorry about her. When she sinks her teeth into a story… She's like a mutt with a bone, you know? Just doesn't know when to let go, and doesn't care who gets in her way." Ava said.

"I heard that." She heard Sophie hiss over the comm. Ava resisted the urge to smile. Luke sighed, and his face softened when he looked at Ava.

"It's okay. I know a lot of people like that. It's Megan, right?" he said. Ava smiled.

"Actually, it's Maggie. She hasn't even bothered to learn my name, and it's no use correcting her. Sometimes even I forget that it's not my name." she said. Luke gave her an apologetic look.

"Yeah. The judge is forever calling me Lawrence." Ava laughed softly.

"Yeah. Bosses, right?" she said.

"Tell me about it." he groaned. Ava laughed, a little more fully. She sighed.

"Sometimes I just wish I could snatch this story right out from under her, you know?" She said, looking at him pleadingly. "Then she'd finally have to admit that I'm more than just an assistant." Luke's expression turned thoughtful. Ava looked up at him. "What are you thinking?" She said. She waited a beat, and then feigned a light bulb moment. "You know," she started, throwing in a sultry look for good measure. "You could tell me the story. Then we would both stick it to our bosses."

"Don't push him too hard. Keep him comfortable, but on his toes." Sophie whispered through the ear bud.

Ava moved forward, and sat on the judge's desk, crossing her legs. Luke sat up and took interest. "So, what do you think?" Ava asked, raising a brow. Luke considered.

"What about my job? No one in the legal world would ever hire me if I did this." he said. Ava smiled. She remembered Hardison telling her that as an undergraduate, Luke had spent considerable time studying journalism. It was clear that he'd wanted to go into the field, but his family wouldn't hear anything of it.

"Come work at the paper. I can see a fine reporter in you, Luke. All you have to do is give me the story. We'll do it together. Think about it, your first story, as an amateur no less, about a dirty judge. It'd be gold. Newspapers would be fighting tooth and nail over you." she said, lowering her tone subtly, seducing him with her looks and the idea together, just as Sophie had told her to do.

Ava could practically see the wheels turning in his head. "You don't have to decide now. Come on, let's get out of here. We can go for coffee." she said, standing.

"Won't your boss miss you?" he asked. Ava smiled.

"I doubt she'll notice I'm gone, until she needs something. It'll be good for her to do some actual work herself." Luke smiled.

"Coffee?" he asked. Ava smiled.

"That's it. We'll both talk about how terrible our bosses are, while you pretend that you're still debating whether or not you want to do this, I pretend to try and convince you, and then we work something out." she said. Luke laughed.

"Alright. Let's go."

They both turned, and exited the office. Things were going magnificently. There was just one last thing that Ava needed to do. She needed his key card. She turned abruptly, and practically pinned Luke to the wall. "Oh, and just one more thing." Ava said, putting her hand on his chest. Luke swallowed, and she saw his pulse hammer at his throat.

"Yeah?" he asked, his voice husky. Ava leaned in, slipping her hand into his jacket, and smoothly slipped his key card from his pocket, and pretended to just be feeling him up a little.

"We'll also pretend that coffee won't lead to anything more than that. But we both know it will." she whispered, then turned and walked away, slipping the card to Parker, who was sitting on a bench in the hallway, as she passed.

And so Ava went to coffee. And then coffee had turned into lunch. She flirted lightly, and talked, well, lied easily with Luke, and actually enjoyed herself. After this job was over, she'd make sure that he got that job at the newspaper. He was a nice guy, and after everything that he told her about the judge, she thought he really did have the instincts of a reporter. She said her goodbyes to Luke, and told him that she'd keep in touch. Which she only planned to do once.

When she got back to the office, the team was waiting for her. "Very nicely done." Nate said, smiling. Ava smiled back.

"Thanks." She looked at Parker. "Did you get the stuff from the safe?" she asked. Parker snorted.

"Did I get the stuff from the safe. Like you have to ask." Ava laughed, and shook her head.

"Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to for a second." she said.

"And with everything that Luke told you, the judge will be off the bench by tomorrow." Hardison said, holding up a little flash drive holding what Ava assumed to be the recording of her and Luke's conversation.

"You did great today, Ava." Sophie said. "You have real talent as a grifter." she said.

"And a thief." Parker said. "Even I could barely see that pickpocket job." she said.

Ava smiled back at them, feeling very satisfied with the way that things had gone. She frowned, realizing that the only one who hadn't said anything was Eliot. She looked at him, and saw his expression was clouded. He met her gaze, his expression clouded even more. "Walk me home?" she asked. It was getting late in the evening, she had some things that she had to do, and by the time that she got them done, it'd be time for her to eat. Eliot nodded. Just before they left, Ava turned back and faced the team. "I expect that mug." She said. Nate laughed.

"As part of the team, I guess it's your right." he said. Ava grinned, and turned and left with Eliot.

They walked in silence for a while, seeing as how it wasn't far from the office to her place. "Do you want to tell me what's bothering you?" Ava asked after a while. Eliot was silent for a moment, then spoke.

"The way that you got Luke to talk." he started.

"Yes?"

"I didn't like it." His voice was rough.

"You mean the flirting."

"Yeah."

"It was just the job." she said, echoing his words from before he left. He winced, but continued.

"I know. But I didn't like it." He repeated.

"Eliot, you don't have the right." she said, her temper rising.

"I know," he said, before she could go on. "I just… damn it." he muttered. "I don't know." She sighed.

"I guess we have a long way to go before things are… okay between us." she said.

"Yeah. I guess so."

By that time they were at her apartment. Ava moved to go up, and then stopped. She knew neither of them would like what she was going to say, but since he was being honest with her, she would return the gesture. "Eliot, I haven't looked at another man since you left me. Never even thought about it." she said. His eyes flashed with emotion, and then he closed his eyes.

"I don't know what to do with that." he said.

"Neither do I. So I guess we're on equal ground." she said. Eliot nodded. "Goodnight." she murmured.

"Goodnight." his voice was husky, and Ava shivered. She'd always had a weak spot for his voice.

She turned, and went up to her room. She smiled, and waved at Beck, who smiled back for the first time. As she climbed the stairs to her room, she thought that it would be a long night, seeing as how there would be no way she could sleep, but she'd make it a productive one. She sent Luke an e-mail, saying that she'd gotten a job offer somewhere else, and that she'd be leaving town by tomorrow. She told him that he should go ahead and write the story on the judge, and that if he did, there would be a job waiting for him at the Boston newspaper. She'd already made sure of that. Then she'd called and left a message for the family owned contractor that her ex-landlord had sent her to. She'd insisted on family owned. She figured if she was going to live in the city, she might as well help out the local merchants.

By the time that she had finished all her phone calls, and made arrangements for Finn to be brought to her, it was one in the morning. She was too tired to do anything else but strip down and fall into the bed in the guest room. Her last thought as she fell asleep was that she'd forgotten to get dinner.

**Ending Note: **Hey guys, hope you liked this chapter! So, not the next chapter, but the one after that, there's a scene that I'm writing where Ava sings a song, that's about her relationship with Eliot. I'm having A LOT of trouble trying to decide what song that should be. So I've decided to come to you guys for help! :D I'm going to be accepting suggestions either through reviews or messages, which ever you like better. Then I'm going to put the one's I like most, (plus a few of my own suggestions) and put up a poll on my profile. So, if you have any suggestions for songs, I'd love to hear 'em! :D I'm looking for a sad song, so anything sad-ish, maybe a little angry, that you think fit with Ava and Eliot, send it my way! : )

Thanks again to everyone who's been reviewing, faving, reading, etc. You guys seriously rock, and I love you all! You are AMAZING. For real. XD And thanks, as always, to Trapper Creek Kaniac for being an awesome beta! :D


	13. The Two Horse Job Ch 13

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity. **

**Author's Note**: Hey, my awesome and amazing fans! Here's the newest installment of The One Job Left Unfinished. :D It's a combination of my imagination, and the Two Horse Job, which is one of my personal favorites. :) This chapter is nice and long, which I personally think is awesome. I hope you like it! Read the End Note please! It's important!

**The Two Horse Job**

Two weeks after the dry run job, Sophie got a phone call from Nate. "Sophie, I got a job. It's in Kentucky. I'm going there with Eliot tonight, let the rest of the team know, would you?" Sophie rubbed at her eyes.

"Ah, sure." she said. "Why are you going with Eliot?" she asked.

"Because he knows the family. The man, Willie Martin, he called Eliot. We're going to see him." he said. Sophie tried to wrap her sleep fogged brain around what Nate was saying.

"Okay, well, let me know when you're about to get in." she said.

"Yeah." The line went dead, and Sophie yawned. A new job. And in Kentucky. Sophie smiled, remembering the last time that she had to break out her Southern Belle accent. This should be interesting.

She got up, and went into the kitchen to make herself a cup of really strong tea. She froze as she poured water into the kettle. Eliot knew the family. Eliot's past was a dark, complicated, and very privet place. If he was bringing the team in on this, it had to be very serious, and Eliot had to have known them very well. She bit her lip. She wondered if he'd told Ava anything about them. Before that is.

Sophie sighed, and ran her fingers through her hair. That was one relationship that was far too complicated. Even more complicated than hers and Nate's. Sophie felt for them. Eliot's guilt weighed heavy on his heart, and poor Ava was so lost. Caught between her love for Eliot, and the pain of his betrayal. Their betrayal really. They'd all had a part of in it. And that was part of the reason Nate had let Ava join the team. Ava was good. Very good, actually. But taking in another team member was risky, but in Ava's case, it had been… a good investment, as Nate would say. She was a good fit. And Sophie liked her; the whole team did.

The only problem was Eliot and Ava. It was clear that they were still in love with each other. The trouble was that neither of them could seem to get past what the team had done to her. Understandable of course, but Sophie firmly believed that when someone left, and came back, they came back for a reason. And Ava came back. Sophie sighed again. They were young. They were hurting. And Sophie hated not being able to help. Eliot and Ava were both like family to her. But they were both so bloody stubborn.

Back in Kentucky, Nate sighed heavily, and looked at Eliot. This was all just bad. Just all around bad. "Eliot, do you realize what kind of a position you've put yourself in?" he asked. Eliot sat with his head in his hands.

"Yeah." he said miserably.

"You want me, to authorize a job, for your ex-girlfriend, using your other ex-girlfriend. Or whatever the hell you're calling Ava now." Nate said, summing things up.

"Yeah." Nate sighed.

"You're screwed my friend. Completely and totally, screwed." Eliot looked up.

"Yeah." he said again.

They went back to Boston together, and Nate filled Sophie in alone, wanting to get her take on things. "He what?" she shrieked.

"Yeah. I know."

"I don't think you do know, Nate. Do you realize what this could do to the team? To Ava? We just got her in. If, no when, she finds out about this, bad things are going to happen. To all of us!" Sophie said. "She's a perfect fit for this team. I don't want to lose her." Sophie pleaded. Nate sighed.

"I know, I know, Sophie. Eliot insists that he's not going to get emotionally involved, but we all know what happened the last time that he promised that." he said. Sophie nodded.

"That's precisely my point. He can't help himself, especially when it comes to a damsel in distress. And she's his high school sweetheart, for Christ's sake!" Nate ran a hand through his hair.

"I know, Soph. I know. So, what do you think?" he asked. She considered.

"Does he really need our help? Truly? There are no other options?" she asked. Nate shook his head.

"Nine horses were killed, Sophie. Nine. Murdered for money." Sophie sighed.

"Then we have to do it. But we are NOT going to tell Ava. Not yet anyways. We'll tell her that Eliot knew the family, and that's it. We'll tell her after we're already in Kentucky. That way she can't back out. And I'll be the one to tell her. Alone." Sophie said. Nate nodded. It wasn't like he wanted to be the one to tell her.

"Agreed. Let's warn the rest of the team, and then we'll call Ava in." Nate said. Sophie nodded. This should be interesting.

The rest of the team wasn't thrilled with this plan. They all remembered what happened the last time that they lied to Ava. It hadn't ended well for anyone involved. But they also agreed that they had no choice. Eliot was beside himself with confusion, not that you could tell. He was stoic, frowning at nothing in particular. Parker was pouting, really not happy at the prospect that she might lose her new friend. And Hardison was rolling his eyes at Eliot. The man just couldn't help himself when it came to women. Not that Hardison could blame him, he thought, glancing at Parker. He had his own weaknesses with women.

An hour later, Ava jerked awake, tugging the knife she kept under her pillow out and sitting bolt upright. It took her sleep fogged mind to realize what had woke her up. Someone was knocking on her door. Finn growled softly. She'd picked him up the week before. Ava stoked him, and gave him the 'stay' command in Gaelic. She slipped out of bed, and walked silently to the door. She peered through the peep hole, and relaxed. She opened the door. "Parker. Sophie." she said. She yawned, and rubbed her eyes. "What's up?" she asked.

"Uh, what's up with the knife?" Parker asked. Ava blinked, and looked at the knife she still held casually in her hand.

"Oh. Uh, I sleep with it." Ava replied. "Don't you all?" Parker and Sophie glanced at each other.

"Um. No." They both replied. Ava shrugged, and let them in.

"So what's up?"

"We have a new job." Sophie said, trying to sound casual. This was going to be tough.

"Oh? Where?" Ava asked.

"Kentucky." Parker answered. She sounded a little off. Ava paused. Kentucky. That was where Eliot's first love was. She shook off the feelings of uneasiness that settled over her.

"Huh. It's been awhile since I've been. Good horse country of course." Ava said. Sophie cleared her throat, and Parker shivered. "What is it?"

"I have a slight fear of horses." Parker said. Ava frowned.

"Why?" Parker flashed back to when she was a kid, and she saw a man in a horse suit beat the snot out of a clown.

"I once saw a horse kill a man." she whispered, her eyes wide. Ava raised a brow.

"Uh, okay… So, what's the job?" she asked, looking back at Sophie.

"There's a man down there, a horse trainer, that Eliot knew when he was a kid. He's having some problems with the owner that he worked for." Sophie said. "We'll brief you at the office." Sophie said. Ava shrugged, but was stuck on the part where they said that Eliot knew the guy. Ava was going to meet someone from Eliot's past. She couldn't deny that she was a little eager. She wanted to know who he'd been before. Maybe that would help her understand who he was now.

After packing, Ava put Finn on a leash and went with Parker and Sophie to the office. She'd taken to bring him with her everywhere. After introducing him to the team, Finn got along with everyone, and behaved himself quite nicely. Even Parker, who was normally a chicken of most animals, liked him. Hardison had started taking him in the van with him, that way he had company when he had to do his hacking thing and everyone else was in the field. Ava was a little upset though, because Finn had decided that he no longer hated Eliot, and insisted that she sit next to him so that Finn could sit between his mistress and Eliot. Ava only cooperated because she knew Finn was stubborn as a damned mule.

Everyone else was waiting, talking amongst themselves. They seemed to be arguing over something, but stopped as soon as the women walked into the room. Ava sat down, and fought back a yawn. "So, what's the deal?" she asked. Hardison pulled up the screen.

"This guy here, Willie Martin, he's a horse trainer in Kentucky, and worked for this guy, Alan Foss. Foss is a hedge fund manager for a firm in New York. Made 40 million in the last year, which led to a lot of high risk, high paying hobbies. Started with poker, and now it's own race horses. Six months ago, there was a fire at the stable that Martin owns." Ava sucked in a breath. "Nine horses were killed." he said. Ava covered her mouth with her hand, as tears crept into her eyes. God… she could only imagine. She'd packed up her animals and taken them with her to Ireland, and left them with a trusted friend. Now she had Finn back, and was trying desperately to find a decent stable to house her horses. Ava put a hand on Finn's head, and took comfort in his warmth. He whimpered softly.

"The horses weren't doing as well as Foss wanted, so…"

"Wait, are you telling me that this man slaughtered nine horses to make a quick buck?" Ava demanded furiously. Hardison nodded. Ava's face hardened. "I'm going to kill him." she said coolly. Eliot smiled a little, and Hardison looked a little scared.

"Hey look, IYS is the insurance holder for the horses." Parker said.

"Look here people, I'm trying to hold a briefing! I work hard to try and make them interesting, with something visual for the visual learners, something for the auditory learners…" Poor Hardison. No one was really listening to his complaints, but Ava smiled encourage at him.

Hardison finished the briefing, and explained the mission to the team. Ava watched Eliot closely. It was clear that this job had special meaning to him, emotionally speaking. And he avoided looking Ava in the eye. There was definitely something up with this. Ava didn't say anything though, because she found that it was better now a days to just let things ride, and see where they went. It was easier, and less painful for her than talking to him directly.

When everything was all set, Ava mentioned that she would be bringing Finn with her. There were few objections, and Ava was adamant that he come with. She'd missed him, and if she was going to keep him, which she damned sure was, she refused to keep leaving him at home alone all the time. Besides, he was pretty much the most well behaved dog that was ever born. And she'd trained him herself. He'd behave himself. And he did. He was even polite as punch on the plane. Ava smiled, and smirked at the team. They rolled their eyes, and ignored her.

When they landed in Kentucky, Ava's heart tripped. She was excited, and a little afraid. The plan was to only be there a day, because the con was supposed to be short, but Ava thought she might stay longer. Sneak in a little time with the man from Eliot's past. Hell, after all he'd put her through, she doubted he could really complain about her talking to an old friend.

The moment that they landed, they went straight to the race track. Ava grinned, and immediately decided this was going to be excellent. Especially after seeing Sophie dressed up like a Southern lady. It was… well, it was hilarious. She was wearing the most ridiculous hat Ava had ever seen in her life. But her accent was nearly flawless. And she was a hell of an actress.

Sophie made a bee-line for the bar, and chatted up the mark, Foss. She grinned at the smooth pickpocket that Sophie pulled, and watched proudly as she slipped Foss's wallet to Parker. Ava wrinkled her nose from her perch between the bar and the back room where the rest of the team was waiting. Foss was a very unattractive man. And he was arrogant as nine hells. Ava didn't like him immediately, and her teeth clenched when she remembered just what he'd done to those horses. "Ava, would you relax. You look like you're about to punch someone." Eliot said, appearing next to her. Ava had heard him coming up the hallway, but had ignored him. She made an effort to relax.

"I just keep thinking about those horses." she said. "If anything like that had happened to my horses…" she said, shuddering. "I think I'd be beside myself." Eliot touched her arm, just slightly.

"I know. Trust me, we'll get this guy." he said. Ava nodded.

"You should go back to the room. I'm fine now." she said. Eliot nodded, and went back to wait with Nate and Hardison. Ava watched Sophie laugh, and walk with Foss back out to watch the track. She listened to their conversation over the com, and smiled. Sophie was doing beautifully. She'd already hooked him on the back room poker game. Perfect.

Sophie and Foss began walked back, and that was Ava's cue. She was going to be the dealer in the game, so as to help them cheat of course. Parker would have done it, but she was watching behind the scene, since they were using a special deck that Parker could see through with the right equipment. So that left Ava to deal. She took her seat at the table, and watched Foss come in.

"Mr. Foss, I'd like to introduce you to the sheik from Dubai. His daddy did business with my daddy." Sophie said with a girlish giggle.

"The pleasure is mine, good luck."

"Thank you." Foss said, shaking his hand.

"And this here is Brad Mackey, the best horse trainer in town."

"Oh, Ms. Kitty." Eliot said, grinning.

"Oh really, then why isn't he working for me?" Foss said arrogantly. Ava resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Eliot was about to answer when Nate came flouncing in.

"Because I work for him." Eliot said dryly.

"Evening, ladies!" Nate said flamboyantly. He was good at dramatic rolls, Ava found. Kitty introduced Nate as Bob, the most generic name ever, and Nate razzed him about his stable burning. Then they got down to business. "Let's play some cards!" he said.

"Um, hold on. I bought these cards at the gift shop, and if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to play with a fresh deck." Foss said nonchalantly. Nate glanced at Ava, and she nodded slightly. Ava had spent a week in Vegas, and had learned a lot about cards. Combine that with her thieving skills, and this would be one card game they couldn't possibly lose, dirty deck or not.

"Alright, it's a rookie mistake, but alright." Nate said. Ava took the deck, and couldn't resist a little smile.

Ava shamelessly showed off, using flair to distract Foss from the fact that she was blatantly cheating. And just as she thought, he didn't so much as blink. Ava passed out the cards, giving Nate the best hand, and Foss the second best. Had to make it look good didn't she? The game went on, chips piling up in the middle, jabs going around the table, and basically boys being boys. Ava remained silent, and wondered why all jobs couldn't be this easy.

Foss and Nate were finally the last in, and he pulled off his watch. "I'm forty thousand light, but this should cover it." he said. Nate threw up his hands.

"We play for cash or horses. Do you still have one of those left, or did you lose that one, too?" he asked. Foss glared.

"Cute. Alright. I'm going to put in my last horse, Baltimore." Ava resisted the urge to roll her eyes. What kind of an idiot lost a horse in a card game? Sophie witnessed the deal, and then Foss and Nate revealed their hands. Nate was on top, of course. He had four jacks to Foss's four nine. Foss threw a bitch fit, insisting on cheating. Ava remained silent, but couldn't hold back the tiniest smile as Nate tossed in his last jabs, and threatened to tell everyone that Foss welched on his bets. Foss threw up his cards, and stormed out of the room.

Eliot looked to Nate, and smiled. He shook his hand. "Thanks, Nate. I owe you one." he said. Ava sighed. Foss didn't have a horse, and the trainer would finally get his dream. Not bad for a day's work.

Ava was just packing up her things, and was going to call the trainer, when she got a call from Nate. "Meet me and the team at the track. We've got a problem." Ava groaned after she hung up. Damn. She knew that this had gone to smoothly. She dropped all her things, and left the hotel she'd checked into.

The team was at the track, arguing. "Hold up, guys, what's going on?" Ava asked.

"Sterling, Nate's replacement at IYS is making problems for us." Sophie said.

"How so?"

"He wants to try and pin the fire on Willie."

"What? Jesus Christ, this guy has the worst luck." Ava said. Nate nodded.

"Tell me about it. This was supposed to be a one day job, but it looks like we're gonna be here a bit longer. Until we can figure out a way to get Sterling off of Willie's back." he said. Ava sighed, but was secretly glad for a few more days here. More time to try and talk to Willie alone.

"So, what are we going to do?" Sophie asked.

"Well we can't keep the horse, but we can't give him to Willie either, because that would make him Sterling's target."

"So what, Willie doesn't get the horse and Foss stays in business, nice!" Eliot exclaimed.

"Calm down, I think I have a way to tackle both. I think." Nate said. Before we do anything, Eliot, we need a stable." Nate said. Eliot sighed.

"Alright, come on." he said.

"Okay. Parker, Hardison, you keep tabs on Sterling, and Ava and Sophie, keep an eye on Foss. Eliot and I will be back in a while." Nate said. The team nodded, and went their separate ways.

Eliot got a stable alright. With the help from his ex, Aimee. Which Nate was not happy about. "Aimee got us the stable and the horses. We need her help." Eliot said.

"So is all these horses mine?" Nate asked, ignoring Eliot.

"No. Trainers work with several owners, but the stable is theirs." she said.

"And what about the logos?" Nate asked.

"Like she said, the stable's mine, but the only way to tell the difference between stables is the logos, so Hardison faked a couple this morning."

"Anything else you need before you go back to being a somewhat disappointing memory?" Aimee asked. Eliot grit his teeth.

"I thought you said that you were fine with this." he said.

"I thought you said you were coming back in three weeks." she tossed back.

"Well this is perfect." Nate muttered. "Aimee, we'll be staying in the guest house on the property, so if you need anything, that's where we'll be. We'll put the plan into place tomorrow." Nate said. "I want to give us plenty of time to get things right. There's no room for mistakes on this one." Nate said, giving Eliot a meaningful glance. He gave him a "What?" look, and then the two of them made their way back to the track to pick up the team.

"So we're staying at the guest house?" Sophie asked when she and Nate were alone.

"Yeah." Nate replied.

"Are you crazy?" she whispered. Nate shrugged.

"It's not like it's her stable. She'll only be there when we're on the job." he said.

"I don't like this, Nate."

"Neither do I, but we don't have much of a choice." Sophie sighed.

"I know. Doesn't make it suck any less."

An hour later, the team pulled into the ranch, and Ava inhaled deeply. The smell of grass and horses. God she missed that. It was late, and the sun was setting, giving everything a magical light. She couldn't wait to get settled in, and then go exploring. The team got out of the car, and started walking towards the guest house. Sophie caught up with Ava and Finn. "So, Ava. Listen, there's something that we need to talk about." she said.

"Okay."

"In private." Ava frowned.

"Okay, well, then it'll have to wait. I'm going to drop my stuff, and then go get the lay of the place." she said.

"Ava, it's really important." Sophie said. Ava's eyes narrowed.

"Sophie, I'm sure it can wait." she said, wondering how far Sophie would push. Ava was already suspicious of the team's reaction to this job, and if Sophie pushed any further, she'd know for sure there was something up. But Sophie backed off.

"Okay. Just, when you get back." she said. Ava nodded, and went ahead of the team to the guest house.

She claimed a room, and dropped her bags. The team went in to do the same, meanwhile Ava went to leave. Before she could, a pretty woman came in the door with an armful of blankets. "Oh, here, let me help you with those." Ava said. She took the blankets, and set them on the couch. She turned back to appraise the woman. She was tallish, with a slim, athletic build, and strawberry blonde hair. Very pretty, and obviously a working girl, judging from the calluses on her hands. Ava smiled tentatively. "Hi, you must be Willie's daughter." she said. The girl smiled.

"Yes, Aimee. Pleased to meet you." she said. Ava shook her offered hand.

"Same to you."

"So, you're part of Eliot's team?" Aimee asked, her face clouding when she said Eliot's name. And she said Eliot's team, not Nate's. Ava frowned.

"Uh…" she broke off when Eliot came back from down the hall, and froze when he saw the two of them together. His expression told it all. He did not want them talking. Aimee's face lined with rage.

"Eliot." she said curtly.

"Aimee… what are you doing here?" he asked.

"It's my guest house, I can come and go as I please. But I was just bringing you and your team blankets." she said. Ava watched Eliot closely, and she saw he was clearly uncomfortable.

"Uh, thanks. And uh, thanks for letting us stay here." he said.

"Sure. Anything to get this over with, so you can leave. Again." she said. Ava's heart froze. Again? Her head whipped around to look at Aimee.

"Again?" she whispered. Aimee frowned.

"Yes. Again. Or didn't you tell your team about us, Eliot?" she asked. Pain ripped through Ava's chest. Us. Her, him, them. Together. She looked back at Eliot, and heard her heart race through her ears.

"Us…" she murmured. She looked back at Aimee. "My god. You're her." she whispered. Aimee frowned.

"Her?" she asked. Ava shook her head.

"God…" she spun around to face Eliot. "This is her? The one that got away?" she demanded. She heard Aimee suck in a breath, and glanced at her. She looked horrified.

"Oh god. You two are together, aren't you?" she whispered. Ava's mouth twisted into a snarl.

"No. No we're not. Not anymore. Excuse me." Ava whirled away, and ran outside. Finn ran after her, so that girl and dog were racing over the green fields. She heard Eliot call after her, but didn't dare stop her wild flight.

Eliot cursed violently under his breath, and stalked away from the door. She was gone. Long gone. And he had no chance in hell of catching her. "Eliot, I… I didn't know." Aimee said quietly. "If I'd known…"

"No, Aimee. Don't worry about it. Ava had the right to know, but I didn't tell her. Well, I told her about you, but not that you were… you." he said, frowning.

"Why didn't you?" Aimee asked.

"Because I was afraid that if I did, she wouldn't come. And we need her." Eliot said, sighing. Aimee was quiet for a moment.

"Will she come back?" she asked. Eliot thought for a moment.

"Yeah, she will. She won't do it for me; she might not even do it for the team. She'll do it for the horses." he said. Aimee nodded.

"I hate to ask, but… what's your story with her?"

Eliot patted the couch seat next to him, and Aimee sat. "She was a mark." Eliot began.

"A mark?"

"Someone we were running a con on. Well, her father was, anyways. He ran the Irish mob in New York. One of his victims brought us in. I was doing undercover work, so to speak, as her bodyguard."

"And you fell for her." Aimee finished.

"Yeah, I fell for her. She found out who I was, and what I was doing to her, and it all fell apart. We both ran away, I guess. But god I fell so hard for her. First time since you that I've ever actually loved, in that way." he said. Aimee stood.

"Eliot, that's not fair." she said. "You know I'm still furious with you.

"Yeah, I got that from all the snarling you've been doing." he said. She glared at him. "See, like that." She rolled her eyes.

"I'm going back to the house." she said. She paused at the doorway. "I'm sorry, about Ava. It doesn't change that I'm still pissed at you, but I'm sorry." then she walked out.

Eliot groaned, and ran his hands through his hair. Now he was nine kinds of messed up. Seeing Aimee again had resurfaced old feelings, which wouldn't have been that big of a deal, except for that confused him to hell and back over Ava. And now Ava knew. And Aimee knew about Ava. The whole situation was just fucked up. He supposed he should go after her. Try and explain himself. He doubted it would do much good, but he figured he had to try.

He knew where she'd probably be. In the fields, sweet talking some horse into being her new best friend. And he was right. She was in the field, lying down along the spine of a beautiful black filly, in the way only a woman who'd known horses all her life could ever be comfortable with. She stared up at the stars that were beginning to wink into life, and Finn trotted around the field, sniffing this and that. He barked once, and came trotting over to Eliot. He rubbed his ears, and his big tongue lolled out of his mouth in a wolfy grin. Then he looked from Ava to Eliot, as if to say "Dude, you screwed up big." Eliot sighed. "I know, I know." he said.

Ava sat up as Eliot approached, so she was sitting upright on the horses back. "You had no right to keep that from me. No right." she said. Eliot nodded.

"I know." he said.

"Then why did you?"

"Because I wasn't sure you'd come if you knew." Ava's eyes flashed.

"Fuck you." she spat. "What the hell kind of person do you think I am, that I would refuse helping someone just because you were in love with her once. Damn it, Eliot, I was excited to come here, to meet the man that you'd worked with as a kid. And I would have wanted to meet her too. But then you had to go and lie about it, and screw everything up. After all that you've put me through, you should know better than anyone that the one thing I can't stand is lying."

"Ava, I know. God knows that I do. But this is important to me. And I didn't want your, hell, our feelings to get in the way." he said. Ava shook her head in disgust.

"God, you really don't know anything about me, do you?" she asked. She whistled for Finn, then abruptly kicked the filly into a gallop, and rode over the hills toward the stable. Eliot watched her go, and realized that he'd forgotten how good she was on a horse. Finn looked at Eliot once more, and then raced after his mistress. So much for that idea.

Eliot scrubbed his hands over his face, and headed back to the guest house. Ava would come back. Her pride would demand it. When he got back, the team was all in the living room, talking. They went silent, and stared up at him when he walked in the room. He snarled at them. "Shut up." he said. He went into the room he'd chosen to fume about his own stupidity and the complicatedness of women. It was well after midnight when Ava slipped into the house, making less than no noise. She went straight to bed, still dressed, so that the smell of horses on her clothes lulled her into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning, the team was in their positions. Ava was hanging out in the hay loft in the stable, lying in wait for the time when the team would need her. Hardison and Parker were keeping an eye on Sterling, Eliot was in 'his office', Nate was waiting for the time when he'd run into Sophie, who was with Foss, leading him to Baltimore's stall, where he was supposed to talk to Nate about buying him back. Ava hadn't spoken a word to Eliot since she got in, and only said a few words to the team when necessary. The team, of course, was taking her side. Eliot couldn't blame them, though.

Ava listened over the com to the Sophie talk to Foss. "I appreciate you coming here on such short notice." she said. Foss was about to reply, and then Nate cut in.

"Gibson." Foss said, sounding annoyed. "Look, we need to talk about my horse."

"And how nice he looks in his new home?" Nate asked. Then he made some remark about Sophie and her outfit, and Ava rolled her eyes. They went into what was supposed to be Eliot's office, and kicked him out. Nate playing asshole boss. He was surprisingly good.

Foss went on to explain that Sterling wouldn't let him sell the horse until the claim was settled, and tried to give Nate a check for the original forty thousand dollars. Nate threw him a curve ball. "Uh, the price has gone up. Yeah, it's two million now. I've got this deal coming up, and I could use the liquid cash." Nate said. Foss argued, Nate ignored him, he and Sophie left. Nicely played, Ava thought. Then Foss did something unexpected. He offered Eliot a job, working for him under him and his hedge fund buddies, creating some sort of investment operation in horses.

"That's going to be our way in." Eliot murmured over the com when Foss was gone.

"You bet. Hardison's working on it now." Nate said.

Nate, Aimee, and Eliot met up in the hallway of the stable, and Ava took out her com, and made her way over to ask what the new plan was. As she approached, she saw Nate rolling his eyes, and subtly walking away as Eliot and Aimee fought. Ava knew it was wrong to listen. But that didn't stop her from doing it anyways. After all, she deserved one free pass after everything. She slinked up the hallway, and listened while carefully maintaining her hiding spot around the corner.

"You just can't let it go, can you?" Eliot demanded.

"I was fine before you came back into town!" she tossed back.

"Your dad called me!" Eliot said indignantly.

"You could have said no." She hissed.

"I left because you got married, Aimee. You're the one that moved on, not me." he said.

"And what about all the other times that you left me here waiting for you? No phone calls, no letters, nothing! What about then, huh Eliot? What reasonable explanation could you possibly have?" she demanded. Eliot paused, and closed off. Ava recognized that look. The 'that's a part of my past no one knows about, and I'm not going to explain' look.

"I was working." he said curtly.

"Not good enough."

Aimee whirled away from him, and he reached for her arm. She spun around, and slapped him smartly across the cheek. Ava winced. Damn it, why did she get to do that, and she didn't? Eliot sighed. "I deserved that, but-" he was cut off quite suddenly by Aimee's mouth crushing to his. Ava's heart quite simply stopped. She watched as another woman's arms wrapped around Eliot, and another woman's body molded to his. And he wasn't doing a damn thing about it.

Ava smothered a choked sob with her hand. And took off running. That was what she did best. Running. She ran, and ran, and ran. She ran straight past Sophie, straight past Nate. Time seemed to slow around her, as her heart pounded in her ears, her breath panted through parted lips, blocking out all other sounds. Blocking all other thoughts, but the one that pounded through her mind. Run. And never stop running.

Aimee was fused to Eliot's mouth, and Eliot was… frozen. Instinct told him that he should be kissing back. She'd been his first love, and she was kissing him. It should be okay for him to kiss back. But it wasn't. Eliot felt an overwhelming sense of… wrong. It just felt wrong. It felt off, not right. Like wearing a jacket that was too small. It simply didn't fit, and rubbed him the wrong way. He gently pushed Aimee back, and saw the hurt and shock on her face. "Aimee, I'm sorry, but, I can't do this. We're not together anymore. I'm… I'm sorry. We both need to move on." he said gently. Aimee looked hurt for another minute, and then her expression cleared.

"Oh, I see." she said. Eliot frowned.

"What?" he asked.

"I'll tell you later. There's something I need to do first." she said. Then she walked away. Eliot stared after her, and shook his head. Women. He'd never understand a damn thing they did.

Sophie, Nate, and Hardison met up to discuss a plan back at the track. Eliot was trying to find Ava, Ava was trying her damndest not to be found, and Aimee was doing whatever she had to do. So that left the rest of the team to come up with a plan. While talking about Mr. Ed of all things, Nate's mind clicked randomly, as it often did. "The Lost Heir job!" he said. Sophie grinned.

"Perfect!" she all but purred.

"The what?" Parker asked.

"A classic European scam. You pose as a member of the lost family, and if you pull it off, the payouts are fabulous." she said, clearly reminiscing.

"What does that have to do with horses?" Parker asked.

Nate went on to explain that horse racing was all about bloodlines. They'd pose Baltimore as the lost heir of a champion horse line, sell it back to Foss, and have Sterling do the work for them by having him nab Foss for insurance fraud. It'd be beautiful. If they could pull it off. But first, they needed to get the team together, and explain the plan to Aimee, and work out all the kinks.

They headed back to the stable, and found Eliot looking frustrated and irritated. "What happened?" Sophie asked.

"I can't find Ava. She's not answering on the com." he said. Sophie sighed exasperatedly.

"What'd you do to her?" she asked.

"I didn't do anything!" he said indignantly. Sophie rolled her eyes.

"I'll try and find her." she said. She whistled sharply, and Finn came bounding towards her from around the stable. "Come on, boy. Let's go find your mistress." Sophie said. The team waited patiently as Sophie and Finn set off in search of Ava.

Finn had his nose to the ground for a long while, and then trotted along, following a specific trail it led them to a little pond about a half mile from the stable, secluded and peaceful. Ava sat on the grass, letting her toes just graze the surface of the water. Sophie approached slowly, while Finn galloped towards her, and sat down lovingly at her side. Sophie carefully sat down beside her with a sigh. "It's a nice spot to get away from it all." she commented casually. She saw Ava's red rimmed eyes, and knew without a doubt that she'd been crying.

"Yeah." Ava said quietly.

"You want to talk about it?" she asked.

"No."

"Okay." And that was it. They sat there for about twenty minutes, neither of them saying a word, and yet Ava felt a thousand times better.

"Thanks." she said.

"Not a problem. But, we need you, you know." she said, facing her. Ava sighed. It was nice to hear.

"Okay." she said. They both stood, and walked back, their arms linked at the elbow. Friendship like that was rare. Support without a word, understanding with nothing but a look, and the companionable silence that fell over them on the walk. Ava couldn't have been more grateful for it.

"Just one thing, honey." Sophie said. Ava looked at her. "It's not real. Both of them know it. Him more than her." she said. So she'd guessed. Ava nodded.

"Is it like that for us?"

"I don't think so. It's too painful not to be real." she said. Ava nodded, not sure if that was good news or bad news.

They met the team back at the stables, and went over the plan. Originally, they were going to use Baltimore, and link his standard microchip to a false number on the horse bloodline website, and disguise the white strip on his nose. But Eliot pointed out that plans flaws.

"Number one, Baltimore is too slow. His lungs are still damaged from the fire, he won't run fast enough to fool Foss. And two, the paint over his stripe is just plain dumb." he said. Hardison glared.

"I don't see you with a better idea." he said. Eliot glared back.

"Boys, behave." Sophie said.

"What about the horse from last night, Kentucky Fried Chicken?" Hardison asked. Ava snorted loudly, and tried to pass it off as a cough. God she loved Hardison.

"Kentucky Thunder." Eliot corrected.

"Exactly what I said." Nate considered.

"Stealing a championship racehorse to fake another championship race horse?" he asked, smiling. "I like it. Let's make it happen." he said. And so the plan was set.

Eliot brought in Foss, and made the pitch beautifully. Even Ava couldn't deny that the man was smooth as butter. Hardison had brought in the Chinese father and daughter to act as the owners of Kentucky Thunder, newly named "Fei Kuai", and Sophie distracted K.T's real trainer so that they could borrow him for a bit. By the time that the team was through with Foss, he looked like he'd struck gold. Ava and Parker were in the stands, keeping a watch on things, and watching as Eliot convinced Foss to invest two million dollars in a horse he'd already bet five thousand on in a race. That was the beautiful irony of it all. Foss was the biggest sucker Ava had ever laid eyes on. And things were going magnificently, until what always happens, happened. They hit not one, but two, snags.

Nate got another vague and cryptic visit from Sterling, but that was the least of their problems. Hardison explained that they needed K.T, or they were screwed. "We can't fake the microchip on him." he said.

"Isn't that what you did before?" Nate asked.

"No, I faked the information on the site. Unless one of us is a certified veterinarian surgeon, and can take the microchip out of the horse and put it in another one, then we're screwed."

"But K.T is gone." Eliot said.

"Say what again?" Hardison asked.

"Is he racing?" Sophie asked.

"Worse, stud farm." Aimee said miserably.

"Shit." Ava muttered.

"We need to get K.T, and now. If we stall, Foss and Sterling will both mess this plan up. It's now or never." he said. Nate pulled him aside.

"Look, we can't jeopardize the team because you've got something to prove to your high school sweetheart." Nate said. Sophie jumped in, and put him in his place.

"And like you're not trying to do the same thing with Sterling? Come on Nate, we've all got something to prove here, just by being here with you." she said. Nate sighed, knowing he was caught between a rock and a hard place.

"I agree with Eliot. We need K.T, and now." Ava spoke up. Everyone stared at her for a moment, and then brought it back together. Nate grudgingly agreed, on the condition that the whole team was twice as careful as usual, and anything to close, and he would pull the plug. The team agreed. And so they made their way to the stud farm.

"Can you hack it?" Parker asked as they sat in the truck. Hardison stared at her disbelievingly.

"Hack the lock? Wow. No." he said.

"Parker, you'll have to go through the air duct, drop through and let us in." Eliot said.

"But the horses are in there!" Parker hissed.

"There's a back room where no horses will be, you'll be fine." Aimee said encouragingly.

"Why can't Ava do it? She's good around horses." Parker said.

"Ava will be going in. I'll be right behind you Parker, it'll be fine." Ava said. Parker relaxed a little. Ava was going too. That was a whole other story.

So they both crawled through a tiny space, on their stomachs, inch by freaking inch. Parker made a lot of noise about her not being the only one that should have to learn to crawl through a tiny space. Rocket science was also mentioned. "You know, I'm here too." Ava pointed out.

"Oh yeah. Sorry." Parker said.

They found their exit duct, and dropped down into the stall. Parker froze, and squeaked. "What is it?" Ava asked.

"I found Kentucky Thunder. And he's a really big horse!" she squeaked.

"Aw, I'm sorry!" Aimee cried. "Sometimes they put the males in their before they get teased." Aimee said.

"I don't want to be in a stall with a horse that's about to be teased!" Parker cried. Ava had to try really hard not to laugh. The funny part was that Parker was thinking of a different kind of teasing, but she really _didn't_ want to be in a stall with a teased stallion. They got a little snarky after teasing.

"Aw shit." Ava muttered. She dropped down too, spooking K.T into rearing. Parker gasped, and rolled away, not even having time to scream. Ava threw up her hands, and shouted a sharp command in Gaelic, mostly on instinct. It was what she had always done with her horse. Apparently it worked on K.T too, because he settled back down to two feet, and huffed indignantly. Ava murmured to him in Gaelic, and stroked his nose to settled him. Then she turned to Parker.

She was huddled against the wall, looking terrified. "Come here." Ava whispered. Parker shook her head. "Chicken." Ava dared. Parker glared, and took a few tentative steps forward, until slowly but surely she was next to Ava. There was one thing that Parker couldn't resist, and that was a dare. Ava took Parker's hand, and pressed it to Kentucky Thunder's nose. Parker stiffened, then relaxed when nothing happened.

"Huh." she said. "Horses aren't as murderous as I thought." she said. Ava chuckled quietly, and the two of them made their way to the stable door to let the others in.

They got K.T loaded into the trailer, and then made their way back to the pretend stable. And as was their luck, they hit another snag. Ava swore, if they had one more problem, she was going to punch someone in their face. There was an accident on the road to the stable, and the cops showed up. "I'll be damned." Hardison said. "We're going to jail."

"We're not going to jail, alright? We'll get Kentucky Thunder there." Eliot said angrily, and slammed out of the truck. Next think anybody knew, Eliot was on K.T's back, riding off into the sunset like some cowboy from an old western. The team shook their heads as Hardison streamed the video to Nate.

"Great. Nice going not doing anything stupid!" Nate exclaimed. Ava shook her head. Damned if that man didn't look good on a horse.

Eliot pushed K.T into a gallop the entire way to the stable. He showed up not a minute too soon. "The pony express is never late boss." he told Nate with a reckless grin. Nate shook his head.

"Alright, we're back on. Let's do this!" Nate said, grinning in spite of himself.

Eliot led Kentucky Thunder straight to Foss, who immediately checked the microchip. Which of course checked out. And then Foss made the whole team happy by pushing the magic button that sent them twelve million dollars, and did it with a smile. Ava laughed in spite of herself. She, Parker, and Hardison were all sitting in the office, Finn too, sipping orange pop (Hardison's favorite) and enjoying the show that was about to unfold. And it was a fabulous show indeed.

Foss lead all his investors, and Sterling, to 'Fei Kuai', and proudly presented him to all of the most important investors at the company that Foss worked for. Sterling started to tell him the problem, but Foss wouldn't hear anything of it. Sterling insisted the horse was Kentucky Thunder. Which it wasn't. Which made a fool out of Sterling. Point one for the team. Foss insisted that the horse was Fei Kuai. Which it wasn't. Which made a fool out of Foss. Point two for the team. They both scanned the horse in the stall, and can you guess who it was? The horse that started it all. Baltimore!

Ava was rather impressed with the end result, even though she'd been in on the plan from the beginning. The finale was simply flawless. Sterling denied Foss's claim, due to the conflicting insurance claims, Foss was forced to give up pretty much everything he owned to pay back his investors, and all was right in the world again.

Back at Willie Martin's place, Nate signed Baltimore over to Willie. "Are you sure this is legal?" he asked, smiling disbelievingly.

"Yep. Due to the insure fraud, ownership of the horse reverts back to the original owner, me, and I'm signing him over to you." Nate said. Willie laughed.

"I can't tell you how much this means to me." he said. "Next horse I get, and I'm naming him Mr. Ford." Willie said. Eliot, Nate, and Aimee laughed.

"Well, I look forward to putting a little money on Mr. Ford." Nate said.

They were about to leave, and Eliot asked for a minute alone with Aimee. Nate waved him off, and left the two of them alone. Aimee smiled. "I just wanted to make sure that things were okay, between us. I didn't want to leave again with anything bad hanging in the air." Eliot said. Aimee smiled, and touched his hand.

"Don't worry about me, Eliot." she said. "I've found that I finally understand why you left. At first I thought it was just because you weren't the settling down type. And I thought that you'd found a family that could be in place of that." she said.

"Those guys? Family?" Eliot asked. It was true, but still. It sounded odd coming from someone else.

"Let me finish. That's what I thought before. And part of its true. They are your family. But I think that you just hadn't met the right girl to settle down with." Aimee said. Eliot frowned. "Ava is an amazing girl." she said. "I spoke to her." she said. "Before Sophie went to her." Eliot's eyes widened, looking a little fearful. "Don't worry, it was all good things to be said, mostly. She's an amazing woman. And she doesn't know it yet, but I think that if you two can move past things, you'd be amazing together." she said. Eliot's eyes flashed with pain.

"What makes you think so?" he asked.

"What always came between us was your work, your leaving. But Ava works with you. You won't have t worry about that with her. You can protect each other." she said. Eliot shuddered.

"I don't know. Sometimes it still terrifies me, thinking of her in danger the way we are. And neither of us have been able to move past what I did to her." he said. Aimee smiled, and kissed his cheek.

"Don't worry. I have a feeling you will." She said.

They said their goodbyes after that, and Eliot did a lot of thinking while the team packed up their stuff, and made their way back to Boston. Could he and Ava work past their pasts? He sighed, running his hands through his hair. If they could, it was going to take a hell of a lot of work, and more than a little luck.

**End Note: **Hey everyone! So, just to warn you, or torture you, I'm not sure which, the next to chapters are the one's you have all been waiting for! The one's that will make or break Eliot and Ava's relationship. So, yeah. Now you all have to wait for them. Mwuahahahah! Yeah, I'm evil. XD

Also, thank you all for the awesome song suggeestions! Even if I didn't use all of them, they all at the very least inspired choices of my own. The poll is up on my profile, so don't forget to vote! The sooner you do, the sooner I can write the next chapter! :D And shoot me a message if you can't see the poll on my profile. I've had that happen before, so lemme know! :)

Thanks again to all my amazing and faithful reviewers. You guys are rock stars, and keep me writing like a mad woman. :) And thanks as always to my beast of a beta, Trapper Creek Kaniac. You are a lifesaver! :D


	14. The Stork Job Ch 14

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity. **

**Author's Note**: Hey everyone! I…. Well, frankly I'm ashamed of myself for waiting so long to updated in such a long time. I hope you all are still interested in the story, and if you are, thank you so much for being patient with me! My life has been beyond hecktick. But the good news is, I have two chapters for you, both of them pretty long. The first one is another remix of an orginal episode. However, I got a review that pointed out that there was a little too much restating in the previous chapter, so I did my best to hold back on that, and do more summarizing that restating in this one. Hope it's improved! And never hesitate to give me suggestions! My beta is awesome, and she helps more than I can say, but three heads are better than two, four better than three, and so on. So review like crazy people, and I promise to take your comments into consideration. Anyways, happy reading! I'm posting this chapter tonight, and the next one tomorrow morning. So try not to freak out, cuz I know you will at the end. But that's all I'm gonna say. Hehehe. By the way, during the song parts, if you know the song, feel free to skip over the lyrics. If not, please read them, cause they're important. :D

**The Stork Job**

The next few days were rough for Ava. She had been so close to knowing how she felt about Eliot, and then that job had blown it all out of the water. It seemed like just when she was ready to make a decision something happened that completely twisted everything back into a hopeless mess. Thankfully there were a few days that Ava had to herself. she supposed she should be thinking about things, making decisions, whatever. But that was exactly what she avoided for four straight days. She worked on her house instead. It was a task that kept her mind and her hands busy, and her wallet shrinking. But she had the money to spend, so why not use it? It was coming along slowly, but surely, and soon it started to feel outrageously comfortable, very familiar and safe, and just off the feeling of home.

She was standing in the middle of her apartment, running through ideas of what she could do next, but each time was left still feeling incomplete when she got the call. It was Nate, about a job. Kids. Ava swore lightly under her breath. They all had a soft spot for kids, Ava, Nate, and Eliot in particular. Nate quickly explained that a couple had come to him, that had gone through what they had thought to be legitimate adoption channels, only to have the son they wanted to adopt taken from them. A woman named Irina Larenko had contacted them, brought them the boy, then disappeared, never to be heard from again. Ava's jaw set. Not if they could help it.

Ava met the team at the headquarters, and they dove right in. Hardison had done plenty of research, but the problem was trying to figure out how to steal a kid, particularly since the American authorities wouldn't help. And how could they know if the kid was actually an orphan. Parker however, took one look at pictures of him, and knew. "Trust me, he's an orphan." She said.

"How can you tell?" Sophie asked.

"See the way he shies away from touch? How he stashes the cookies, in case he doesn't get regular meals for a while. All his things a bag, always ready to run." She said, her eyes going cold, and sad. She looked down, and blinked hard. "Trust me, he's an orphan." She said quietly. Ava and Sophie exchanged glances, but let it go. Hardison did more digging, and found out that Irina was a former Russian model who worked briefly as an actress, but ran out of money ended up with the Russian mob to work as a grafter. She used her connections to create a web site, link it to legitimate sites, and rope in unwitting couples. She used the Russian orphans as decoys. Hardison also discovered that she was attending an American embassy party in Belgrade.

Nate was the man with the plan. The party would be where both Irena and her Russian mob connection would be. The only problem was getting in. Nate asked Sophie, but apparently she'd pulled a lost heir con over on one of the attendants, and therefore would be unable to attend. Ava glanced briefly over the list, and then sighed. "I've got a way in." she said. The team looked at her.

"Really? How?" Nate asked. Ava pulled out her phone, and dialed a number.

"Charles? Hello, my friend." Then she started speaking in smooth, fluent Russian. She smiled, and laughed a lot, and Eliot found himself wanting to punch something. It was a familiar sensation, and one he was used to controlling.

At the end of the conversation, Ava smiled smugly. "I met a man named Charles *insert Russian last name here* when I was in Saint Petersburg. I was under cover as a lounge singer. A traveling, and desperately struggling American, trying to make it big. He was helping me, well, Alexandra, further her singing career, and took me to several events. That's when he finally introduced me to my mark, and I slipped off the grid. I've informed him that I'm back, and ready to get back on the horse after an awful breakup with the mark he introduced me to. He feels just awful that I was treated so badly, and wants to make it up to me by taking me to the embassy party he just happens to be attending." she said.

Nate smiled a bit, and shook his head. "You have all sorts of tricks up your sleeves don't you?" he asked. Ava grinned.

"Of course. I also told him to put me down as a plus one. Who am I getting in the door?" she asked.

"Eliot. Hardison, Sophie, and I will wait at a nearby location, and Parker will go under as a waitress." Nate said. Ava nodded.

"Alright. I'll get you in the door, but then you're on your own. Charles will expect me to be single, and showing up with a man would not help. Oh, he'll also expect me to sing." Ava said.

"Why?" Sophie asked.

"Because, that's my cover. Aspiring star, remember? He said he'd pull a few strings and put me down as the entertainment for the embassy party. I tried to tell him not to go through so much trouble, but he's stubborn, and wants to help." She said.

"Well I suppose the obvious question is can you sing?" Nate asked. Ava's gaze snapped up, and then over to Eliot's. He met it steadily, then spoke without looking away.

"She can sing." he said softly. The team could sense the tension between them, but said nothing.

"Alright, let's do it. Be ready for the flight in fifteen." Nate said.

The team met at the privet airport, and then took off for Serbia. Ava sighed softly, and leaned against the wall of the jet. She hadn't been singing like she normally did. Usually she sang all the time, in the shower, while she was working on mindless chores, in the car. But she hadn't been. Not since... Not since she sang for him. There was a privet room in the back of the plane, and Ava made her way to it. It was empty, and she didn't need it to be anything more than an empty room. She took a deep breath, and opened her mouth to sing. Nothing came out. Ava blinked in surprise, and tried again. A single soft, wistful note came out. Ava trembled as memories came flooding back. Singing in the kitchen, making dinner with him. The beach, listening to and singing along with the CD player. It seemed to be a terrible thing to sing without the joy of it behind her.

Ava's mind shuffled through her mental list of music, and found a few that she had had stuck in her head lately, because they reminded her of him. Only when she'd chosen one of those songs could she sing. She realized she simply couldn't sing if her heart wasn't in it. She sighed again, and did a song or two, to make sure she still knew the melodies. She worked out a list that she would perform, and then went back out to join the team.

When they landed in Serbia, it was late afternoon, not giving them much time to get ready or set up. They set to work right away. Hardison had found an abandoned warehouse a little over a block away from the embassy party that would suit their needs perfectly. Hardison went about setting up his equipment, and the girls went into another room with two outfits, a small bag, and a large bag. The men didn't dare ask what was in those bags, and just went about getting ready. Eliot had to get himself back into a suit, and that would take a while.

Ava sighed as Sophie helped her with her hair and makeup. She liked being pampered, but it was such an awfully long process. Parker had already changed into her waitress outfit, and was sitting next to her, chattering away, looking smug. Ava just sat still, and hoped that the end result would be worth it. She thought of the dress she'd selected, and smiled. It was gorgeous, and one of her favorites. She reluctantly admitted that she was also looking forward to Eliot swallowing his tongue when he saw her. Vain, yes, but what could she do?

When her hair was done, her makeup finished, and her dress in place, the girls headed out into the open area of the warehouse. Eliot looked up as they came out, and waited to see how Ava looked. Sophie and Parker came out first, and Sophie beamed. "She looks stunning." she said. Then Ava came out. And Eliot stopped breathing.

Her long, curvy body was encased in a deep green dress the color of her eyes, that was strapless, and curved low over her breasts. It hugged her waist, and then flowed down over the hips to twirl around her ankles like smoke. Her hair was left curly, but pinned up somehow into an elegant yet sexy half up look. Her eyes smoldered under thick, inky lashes, and were smudged up with shadow and liner. And her lips were a shamelessly sensual red. Diamonds dripped from her ears, glittered around her wrist, and wrapped around her throat to settle loving between her breasts. She looked like she'd walked off a movie set in old Hollywood, and was absolutely stunning.

Hardison was stuttering, Nate smiled and nodded in approval, and Eliot's gaze shot fire through her veins. "Well?" she asked, her voice low and husky, more from nerves then from design. Eliot walked, well, more like stalked, forward, and paused when they were toe to toe.

"Stunning." he murmured. Ava swallowed nervously, feeling like a rabbit caught in the wolf's gaze.

"Thanks." She looked to Sophie. "Are we ready?" She nodded.

"There's a car waiting downstairs for you three." They nodded, grabbed their com units, and headed out.

The ride there was quiet, and tense, though Parker seemed blissfully unaware. Ava swore if Eliot kept looking at her like that she was going to pounce on him, bugger anyone who happened to be watching. Thankfully the ride over was short. Parker snuck in through the employee entrance, and Ava and Eliot went through the front, then split up. Ava went in search of Charles, and Eliot went to find Irena. Meanwhile, Parker was keeping an eye out for Nicolas.

Ava found Charles quickly enough. "Charles!" she called to him. He turned, and smiled widely at her.

"Alexandra, I'm so pleased that you were able to make it!" he cried in his thick accent. He was a tall, thickly built man, who would seem largely intimidating were it not for his teddy bear like manner. He was a true gentle giant, and Ava adored him.

"I am too. I am more than ready to get back out there." Ava said.

"You have the songs you plan to play I presume?" he asked.

"Of course." Charles nodded in approval.

"The band will start in 5 minutes. Are you ready to join them?" he asked. Ava nodded, and felt butterflies in her stomach. She took a deep breathe, and settled herself.

"How many songs?" she asked.

"Well, however many you like, but they're hoping for five." he said.

"Four." Ava said, smiling, and gave him the list. He sighed.

"Alright. Have it your way." he said, and then set off to give the band her selections.

When it was time for Ava to sing, she stepped out onto the small platform, and picked up the mic. Immediately, all eyes were on her, but she held steady. "Tonight, we're going to take things nice, and slow." Ava said. "Music for romance." She turned to the band, and they began her first pick. It was slow, and soft, and ripe with emotion. Ava closed her eyes, and let the emotion wash over her. And then she sang.

"_The keeper of the gates of wisdom. Please let me in. 'Cause I just can't go through, another heartache again. Pretty lies and alibis, how could I be so blind? Now all alone and scared to stand, slowly going out of my mind. He was my strongest weakness. I surrendered heart and soul. It's gonna be a long, long time, till I regain control. I'm still a prisoner held captive by his memory. He was my strongest weakness, and I'm afraid he'll always be. I gave my faithful heart to someone, who couldn't understand, how he held my little world, in the palm of his hand. Now he's gone and life goes on. So if this pain will ever end. Will I be afraid to risk it all. To ever fall in love again. He was my strongest weakness. I surrendered heart and soul. It's gonna be a long, long time, till I regain control. I'm still a prisoner held captive by his memory. He was my strongest weakness, and I'm afraid he'll always be. He was my strongest weakness, and I'm afraid he'll always... be..."_ She whispered.

Tears slipped slowly down her cheeks as she sang, and it was hard to keep her voice steady. That song had always been a tear jerker for her, but now, singing it, and seeing him... It was almost too much for her. And he watched her the whole time, his gaze never leaving hers, but he was too far away for her to tell what he was thinking. Ava tried to shake off the worst of the emotions, and moved on to the next song.

"_Something always brings me back to you. It never takes too long. No matter what I say or do I'll still feel you here 'til the moment I'm gone. You hold me without touch. You keep me without chains. I never wanted anything so much than to drown in your love and not feel your rain_." When she glanced up and met Eliot's gaze across the room, he tensed, and held deathly still. "_Set me free, leave me be. I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity. Here I am and I stand so tall, just the way I'm supposed to be. But you're on to me and all over me. You loved me 'cause I'm fragile. When I thought that I was strong. But you touch me for a little while and all my fragile strength is gone. Set me free, leave me be. I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity. Here I am and I stand so tall, just the way I'm supposed to be. But you're on to me and all over me. I live here on my knees as I try to make you see that you're everything I think I need here on the ground. But you're neither friend nor foe though I can't seem to let you go. The one thing that I still know is that you're keeping me down!" Her voice soared, and the audience held their breath. "You're on to me, on to me, and all over...  
Something always brings me back to you. It never takes too long_."

Her song ended on a whisper, and bittersweet emotions coursed through her. She couldn't explain it. She had never wanted anything so much in her life as to be back to the way things were before, but she had never felt pain so strong either and that held her back. Her thoughts led her to her next song, and she smiled, thinking that her performance told a story. A story of a great love affair, that started to suddenly, burned so brightly, and then ended so tragically. The higher you fly, the farther you have to fall.

Ava closed her eyes, and nodded to the band to start the next song. "I_ miss your blue eyes, how you kiss me at night. I miss the way we sleep. Like there's no sunrise, like the taste of your smile. But I never told you, what I should have said. No I never told you, I just held it in_..." Ava took a deep breath and held in the tears. "_And now, I miss everything about you. Can't believe that I still want you. After all the things we've been through, I miss everything, about you, without you._" Ava continued with the song, and captured the audience's hearts effortlessly. Eliot listened, and died a little more with each line. Before, it had been longing, without desire for it. This was similar, but now she made it seem like longing, with desire for more. Did she mean what she sang? Any other time he would have said yes. But he didn't dare let himself hope that she meant this. Not until he knew for sure.

Then next song was her grand finale. Her final message to him, the intro to the next chapter of the love affair. She felt her heart began to pound. This song was more uplifting, more optimistic. And she wanted it so much. "_There were nights when the wind was so cold, that my body froze in bed if I just listened to it, right outside the window. There were days when the sun was so cruel, that all the tears turned to dust and I just knew my eyes were drying up forever. I finished crying in the instant that you left, and I can't remember where or when or how and I banished every memory you and I had ever made_." Her voice reached a dramatic crescendo, and then she paused, staring desperately into the crowd. "_But when you touch me like this, and you hold me like that, I just have to admit that it's all coming back to me. When I touch you like this, and I hold you like that, it's so hard to believe but, it's all coming back to me. There were moments of gold, and there were flashes of light. There were things I'd never do again. But then they'd always seemed right. There were nights of endless pleasure, it was more than any laws allow_." She continued to sing, her voice ebbing, flowing, flying, and floating over the room, until Eliot was lost in her. He couldn't think, couldn't move, could only listen and watch. She was stunning, and her whole body was swaying, and moving with the music. She put so much passion into her words, into the notes, Eliot's chest tightened painfully with want.

And then her gaze met his again, her voice softened, and she looked so pleading, and desperate. "_But if I touch you like this, and if you kiss me like that It was so long ago, but it's all coming back to me. If you touch me like this, and if I kiss you like that, it was gone with the wind, but it's all coming back to me. There were moments of gold, and there were flashes of light. There were things we'd never do again. But then they'd always seemed right. There were nights of endless pleasure, it was more than your laws allow.__When you touch me like this__, a__nd when you hold me like that__, i__t was gone with the wind__, b__ut it's all coming back to me__. __When you see me like this__, a__nd when I see you like that__, t__hen we see what we want to see__, a__ll coming back to me__. __The flesh and the fantasies__, a__ll coming back to me__. __I can barely recall__, b__ut it's all coming back to me now.__If you forgive me all this__, __if I forgive you all that__, w__e forgive and forget__, a__nd it's all coming back to me__. __When you see me like this__, a__nd when I see you like that__, w__e see just what we want to see__, a__ll coming back to me__. T__he flesh and the fantasies__, __all coming back to me__. __I can barely recall but it's all coming back to me… now_."

Ava bowed her head, and then looked up to nod and smile shakily when the audience clapped. Back at the warehouse, Sophie swiped tears from her eyes. She sniffled, and took a deep breath. "She's incredible." She whispered. Nate and Hardison nodded. "Absolutely stunning."

"She could be a professional singer." Hardison said. "Why would she ever want to do this?" he asked. Sophie smiled sadly.

"Because it's where he is." She said. Hardison shook his head. He wondered how deep the love for someone had to be to give something that special up. He wondered if he'd ever find someone he'd do that for. Parker's face flashed into his mind, but he shook it away. Thoughts like that were dangerous, especially with someone as emotionally unstable as Parker.

Ava left the stage, and went to mingle with the crowd, and avoid Eliot at all costs. She couldn't deal with the questions she knew would be in his eyes. Eliot knew she'd avoid him, and decided to do his job, and look for Irena. Parker spotted her first, talking to a tall, dark haired man that Eliot thought was probably her mob connection. Sure enough, after sending a photo to Hardison, he turned out to be Nicolas Obravic, a former smuggler who went legitimate and now runs a government agency that relocates war torn families.

Parker was listening to the low down on him from Hardison, when someone called to her. "Why hello." Parker froze at the suggestive thickly Russian tone. Parker spun around.

"Oh dear."

"What is such a beautiful thing like you doing out here?" he asked. Parker was out on the balcony, a ways away from the crowd. Eliot couldn't help her, he was busy trying to chat up the recently located Irena. And god only knew where Ava was. Parker was on her own, with only Sophie's voice of reason in her ear to guide her.

She did her best, making some small talk, but not succeeding very well. She finally worked her way around to the subject of the city, and the orphans, and things went downhill from there. Parker began having flash backs to her own childhood, when no one cared, no one wanted her, no one bothered to make her safe. She was about to open her mouth, and probably blow their cover when Ava breezed in. Luckily, she'd heard Parker accidentally introduce herself as Hardison, so she gushed, "Hardison, there you are!" she said, beaming.

Parker breathed a sigh of relief, and relaxed a bit. "Hey, Av, ah, Alexandria. What's up?"

"I just got down with my set, and came to find you. I know this isn't the best gig in the world, but hey, you get paid as a waitress, and I get the opportunity to sing. So it's – oh." She said, turning to Nicolas. He preened a little under her gaze, but was clearly more interested in Parker. "Who's your new friend?" she asked.

"Nicolas Obravic. Pleasure." He said, kissing her hand. Ava giggled breathily.

"Well, haven't you found yourself a catch." She play whispered to Parker. Parker smiled nervously. Nicolas preened some more. "So, what were we talking about?" she asked cheerfully.

The conversation resumed, and it seemed to be going okay, until Nicolas made a comment about not bothering with the orphans, because simply couldn't save them all, so why bother. And Parker went just a little crazy. In other words, she picked up a fork and stabbed the guy. "Uh oh." Ava muttered. Then Parker took a flying leap off the balcony. Ava sighed as Nicolas limped away to his body guards, and Eliot came running up to her.

"What the hell happened?" he asked.

"Parker stabbed him with a fork." Ava said. Eliot stared at her for a second.

"Okay… What do you plan to do?" he asked.

"Go after her." Ava said, gathering up her skirt.

"What?" he asked, dumbstruck. Ava smiled.

"Be back in ten." She said, and then leapt lightly off the porch after Parker. Eliot rolled his eyes, and muttered something about crazy women.

He went back to the warehouse, and found Hardison, Nate, and Sophie waiting anxiously. "Well? Where are they?" Sophie asked.

"How should I know? They both took flying leaps off the frickin' balcony like they thought they could fly!" Eliot snapped. Nate sighed.

"Well, we're screwed." he said, summing things up rather nicely.

"Yeah, no kidding. They're BOTH professionals. If they want to disappear, we'll never find them. They could be all the way across the country by now." Eliot said.

"You're confidence is simply inspiring." Came a dry response. The team whipped around to see Ava and Parker walking towards them confidently.

Ava looked rather pleased with herself, and Parker looked very sheepish. "Hey guys. Sorry I stabbed that guy with a fork." she said. Sophie frowned.

"Parker, you can't just going around stabbing people. You could have blown the whole con! But luckily Eliot and Nate improvised and snagged Irena." They looked to Nate expectantly.

"Let's go steal a movie set." He said. Ava frowned as he walked away.

"A movie set?" she asked, facing the team again. Sophie rolled her eyes.

"He made a wild guess. Something about a European grifter who wanted to be an actress. She's going to come to the movie set, and we convince her that we need a child actor if she wants to keep her roll."

"And she brings us Luca." Ava realized, smiling.

"Exactly." Sophie grinned. "I can't wait! A real movie set!" she exclaimed, and then ran off. Ava smiled, and shook her head.

"I hope she doesn't do anything crazy." Hardison muttered, then went into the other room to try and find a movie set they could hijack.

Ava turned back to face Eliot, and her heartbeat stuttered when she realized he'd moved forward, and was standing right in front of her. He touched her hair softly. "It's come loose." he murmured. Ava tried to breathe normally.

"Happens when you jump off balconies." she said. His eyes hardened.

"You could have been hurt." he said harshly. Ava met his gaze.

"No I couldn't. I've done it a thousand times. Piece of cake." she said. She went to move, but he gripped her arm. She faltered.

"Your songs..." he started. Ava opened her mouth to tell him not to read anything into them, but remembered her promise to herself not to lie.

"What of them?" she asked. He just stared at her, waiting for her response. "Singing what I felt was the only way I could do it. So if you're asking if they were sincere, the answer is yes."

She tried to turn away, but Eliot's hands flexed on her arm, and she realized she couldn't budge. The strength there, the heat, and the possibility of danger... well, she couldn't deny that it made her blood run hot. "Let me go." she demanded.

"No. Never again." he said roughly. Then his mouth was covering hers, devouring her bite by vicious bite. The hands on her arms lifted her up onto her toes, pressing her to him. Heat exploded throughout every part of her, until she felt like she was living fire. A favored song flashed into her mind, seductive and tempting. "_Fever... 'til you sizzle. What a lovely way to burn... What a lovely way to burn..._"

They both heard Hardison call for them to hurry up and help him, and pulled away on a gasp. They stared at each other, breathing heavily. "After this case, you and I have some talking to do." Eliot said. Ava shivered, the sound of his voice feeling like a rough caress against her skin.

"Yeah. After." She breathed. Eliot kissed her one last time, to make a point, and then walked out of the room. Ava took a moment to adjust her hair and dress, and take a deep breath. Then she followed Eliot out.

The next day, the plan went beautifully. Nate had directed the funds for a low budget American movie on werewolves into a hidden account, making the producer and director back out, and let Eliot and Nate step in. Sophie hijacked the director's cell phone, and then disappeared to write Irena's scene. When Parker asked why she hadn't done it, Hardison rolled his eyes. "Really? Don't you get it? We're all having a little trouble trusting you after you, I don't know, stabbed a guy with a fork!" he said, feeling highly frustrated. Parker pouted a little, then glared.

"I said I was sorry about that! And besides, he was a creeper. You said so yourself!"

"That doesn't give you the right to make a shank out of fine cutlery." He replied. Parker ignored that, and grumbled to herself.

When Sophie finally reappeared, she was in costume, and had a ten page scene… which was supposed to be a one page scene for Irena. "But you can't have the death scene without the nun!" Sophie exclaimed when Nate said that they didn't need her to act for this.

"A death scene?" Nate asked warily.

"Yes!" Sophie said. Hardison looked at Nate.

"Tell me you didn't see that one coming." He said. Nate shook his head, but couldn't find the heart to tell Sophie that she was a horrible actress.

So Sophie's scene went on. And stunned everyone. She could have won an Oscar with that performance! When the team tried to figure out how on earth it was possible, (they'd all seen her attempts at acting on stage) Nate made a realization. Sophie could act – as long as it was part of an act. And then came the fake fight. "We can't do the scene anymore! We have to cut it!" Nate said.

"Hang on a sec, surely we can find someone else?" Eliot asked.

"NO! He was too perfect, and you can't have the mother without the son!" Irena came forward, looking anxious.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, but the boy who was supposed to play your son just canceled on us. We're gonna have to cut your scene." Eliot said.

"No! I can find you a new boy!" Irena said desperately.

"He'd better be perfect, or the scene goes out the window! Blonde hair, almond brown eyes, seven or eight years old." Nate cried.

"Yes, yes, I have just the boy for the job!" Irina insisted.

"Alright. Have him here by tomorrow!"

As soon as Irena left, Parker followed her. Being a professional thief, it wasn't hard to tail her without being caught. She followed her to a crude orphanage, that was really a warehouse made to be semi-habitable. She was about to go inside, when Hardison stopped her. "Hardison! What are you doing here?" Parker hissed.

"Saving your butt apparently." He said.

"Did Nate send you? I know you said you were having trouble trusting me, but Jesus!" she exclaimed.

"Um, I hate to tell you, but you proved that you can't be trusted by coming here. And it doesn't matter anyways, because I'm here on my own." Hardison said. Parker sighed, and rolled her eyes.

"Fine. As long as you're here you might as well help me." She said.

Hardison rigged her up with a camera headset and let her inside, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop her anyways. Parker crept inside, silent as a cat, and found a room filled with orphans. The room was in filthy conditions, dirt covering everything, including the children, and beds that could be barely called that. Parker broke down into tears. Suddenly she heard a noise, and dove under a bed to hide. Parker watched, feeling hate fill her, as Irena swept into the room, and snatched Luka, and then hurried back out.

When she was sure she was gone, she spoke to Hardison over the com. "I just saw Irena. She has Luka. There's armed guards everywhere." She said, getting out from under the bed. She snuck back into the hall, and saw some of the guards loading crates into a van. "There are some very suspicious looking crates that our friendly reformed arms dealer, Nicolas, is loading into a van. I'm going to check it out." She said.

"Parker, no. It's too dangerous." Hardison said.

"I'll be fine. Just hang on a sec." she said. Parker ignored Hardison's continued protests, and moved silently down the stairs, and into the main part of the warehouse where the remaining crates sat. She took a deep breath, and lifted the lid. Her heart stuttered when she saw the wicked looking automatic guns sitting there. "Jesus." She muttered. Then she got the hell out of there.

When she met up with Hardison, she kept walking. "Come on, we've gotta go." She said.

"What? What about the kids?" Hardison demanded.

"What difference can we make? Who's to say that where we take them will be any better than this?" she demanded. "Trust me, foster care isn't much better than this." Parker said.

"Is that what you think? That all foster homes are awful?" he demanded.

"Yeah. I know for a fact." She said.

"Really? You know how I'm always talking about my Nana?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"She's not my mother, or even my grandmother. She was my foster mother." Parker's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Yeah. She'd have tanned my ass if I misbehaved, but she loved me and the other foster kids, and she took care of us." He said. Parker was silent for a long time.

"Okay. We'll talk to the team, and see what we can do." She said. Hardison nodded.

When they talked to the team, they all figured that Nicolas was using the orphanage as a front for arms deals. However, Nate pointed that they needed to focus on Luka, and then when that was settled, they'd come back when they had a plan. Armed criminals were just not in the cards for the moment.

Back at the movie set the next day, Nate outlined Irina's scene for her and Luka. She is instructed to run through the woods, 'fleeing werewolves', put Luka in a closet to protect him, and then die a very bloody death at the hands of a werewolves. Irina agrees enthusiastically, and plays her part well. Little did she know that Parker was waiting to snatch Luka out from the cupboard. The plan goes smoothly, and the team made a clean getaway. After Irina 'died', she stood up, saying that she could do better, and that they should go again. Upon noticing that Nate and Eliot had disappeared, she demanded to know where they'd gone. After checking the cupboard for Luka, Irina quickly discovered that she'd been play. Outside, Nate pulls up in a van, and picks up the team and Luka.

The team took him to the Mortons, the clients, and Luka quickly caught on that he was being rescued. He smiled as he got out of the, and Dana, the mother, hugged him tightly. Everyone felt pretty damn good about the whole thing. Looking at Luka and the Mortons, they remembered just why they did this job. But they still had one more thing to do. They had to go back for the rest of the orphans. Nate said as much, and the team agreed. Except for Parker. Ava jerked. "Wait, where's Parker?" she asked. Hardison put in a com unit.

"Parker?" he asked. "Damn! She's not wearing an ear bud." he said. "Hand on." He pulled out a GPS tracker, and smiled triumphantly. "I put a GPS chip in her shoe, just in case she decided to run off again." Sophie smiled.

"Nice work. Where is she?

"Damn it again!" Hardison exclaimed. "She's heading back to the orphanage." Nate cursed.

"Come on, let's go." he said. They hopped in the van, and headed out to find her.

Mean while, Parker was having just a little bit of a problem. There was a language barrier between her and the orphans, and for some reason, whenever she tried to explain to them why she was there, they laughed at her. She figured that was because she was just spewing out the random words she'd learned, and hoping that they worked. Finally she gave up. "Haagen-Dazs." She said. That got their attention. But unfortunately, it was too late.

As soon as Parker opened the door to lead the kids to safety, she found Obravic standing in the doorway. "Hardison?" he asked incredulously. Then his face hardened, and he took a swing at her. Parker dodged, and shoved him through to the door, to give him a piece of her mind. She used every trick that Eliot had taught her during the few times Parker had asked him to help her out with self defense. Even though she was inexperienced, luck must have been on her side, because she finally but Obravic down for the count. Then she headed back into the room to get the kiddies.

Getting them out of room had been easy enough; but getting them out of the building was a different story. Guards were patrolling everywhere, and Parker was beginning to feel like maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. Luckily though, Ava, Eliot, and Sophie chose that moment to appear in the stairway. Sophie led the kids, speaking to them in relatively good Russian, and Ava and Eliot took down the guards that were in their way. Nate pulled up in an old blue school bus, and they managed to get all the kids, and the team loaded up in it just as the guards sounded the alarm.

Just when it seemed like they'd get away, the god damned bus stalled. Ava closed her eyes briefly. "You've got to be kidding me." she muttered. And to make matters worse, Obrovic stormed out of the building with his Chechnyan pals, all armed with the guns he intended to sell them. They were all sitting ducks, with very angry, well armed men intent on killing them.

But, instead of a outpour of bullets and lots of blood when the gunfire started, there was only smoke and sparks. Parker looked to the team for an explanation, and Ava and Eliot grinned. "While you were busy speaking in very bad Russian and kicking some Obravic butt, Eliot and I were busy replacing the guns with prop guns from the prop truck." Ava said.

"The prop truck? From the movie?" Parker asked, disbelievingly.

"Oh yes." Hardison said, grinning. Just as the realization of the fake guns hits Obrovic, Hardison activated his booby trap, and one of the large beams fell from the warehouse, knocking down the Chechnyans and Obravic.

Ava hopped out of the van, and popped the hood. "We've got to fix the van. That beam will only hold them down for a few minutes. And I've got to check for any kids that we missed." Ava muttered, quickly diving into the engine. Eliot pushed her aside.

"I've got this. You go check. Hardison's got this place rigged to blow whenever you're ready." Eliot said. Ava nodded, giving him a look of gratitude, and then took off running to check the warehouse.

Eliot fixed the engine in no time flat, and then they waited. After two minutes, Eliot started to get a bad feeling."We'll give her three more minutes. If she's not back, I'm going after her." he said. The team nodded.

"Agreed." Nate said.

They all sat there, trying to keep the kids, and themselves, calm. They couldn't hear anything for a long time. Eliot kept looking at the clock on the van's dash. Two minutes of silence passed, and then there was a gun shot. It rang out through the empty warehouse like a cannon boom, and everyone jumped. Eliot leapt to his feet, and then stood deathly still. Then there was a second shot. "AVA!" Eliot shouted. He waited a beat, then leapt out of the van. He took off running across the pavement like he was running for his life.

Before he could round the corner, Ava came around. He skidded to a stop. "Are you okay?" he demanded. She nodded looking ghostly pale, and tugged a little boy, no more than four, out from behind her.

"I found him hiding in the warehouse. One of the guards had come to, and…" she broke off. The poor boy looked terrified. Eliot scooped him up, and walked him over to the van. Parker came over, and was about to tell Ava that she was glad she was okay, when she looked at her, and froze. Her eyes widened.

"Ava?" Ava looked at her.

"What?" Parker couldn't speak for several seconds.

"You're bleeding." she whispered. Eliot's head whipped around, and he stared in horror as the sickly red liquid dripped from Ava's fingertips. Ava met his gaze.

"Yeah, I know." she said. Then she collapsed. Eliot moved faster than any human being possibly could, and caught her before she fell.

"Ava!" He held her as if she was made of glass. She stared up at him, her eyes wide with shock, and pain.

"Eliot." she whispered. She reached for his hand, and he held it. Her skin was deathly cold, and ice pale. "God Eliot... It hurts. It hurts so much. Worse than before." she said. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Eliot realized with a jolt that she'd been shot before.

"Where Ava, where does it hurt?" he demanded, his voice shaky.

"Side. Left. Ribs." She panted. Eliot parted her jacket, and saw the hideous red stain on her shirt. The wound was dangerously close to her heart. She was losing blood fast. She needed a hospital, and now.

"Parker, car, now." he said.

"Already on it." she said. Sophie, Nate, and Hardison stayed close, but gave them plenty of room. Eliot stripped off his sweatshirt, and pressed it firmly to the wound. Ava cried out.

"I know, Ava. I know. Easy." He murmured. She let out a sob, as her body began to tremble. "Ava, hold on, baby. Hold on, please. Hold on." he said. Her breathing became choppy, and her eyes had trouble focusing. "Ava, look at me. Look at me, Ava. Please, stay with me. Please, Ava, stay with me." he said, desperately. She struggled to focus, and spoke.

"Eliot... I'm... sorry. I should... have seen before." she said.

"What are you talking about? Seen what?" Eliot demanded. She was going into shock. She wasn't making sense. She smiled shakily.

"I should have seen... how much I still love you." she whispered. Eliot's heart contracted with a pain, and a fear, such as he'd never felt before in his life.

"Ava, don't talk like that." he said.

"Listen to me, Eliot. I... love you. So much. And I know you love me too. I just couldn't bring myself to see it. But... I see it now... I guess... it takes... dying, to finally know what's worth living for." she said, more sobs tearing from her chest. Eliot felt cold tears stream down his cheeks.

"No, Ava, no." he whispered, shaking his head. Ava reached into collar of her shirt, pulled a silver chain out and off from around her neck. She grabbed his other hand, and pressed the necklace into it.

"I never took it off. Never even thought about it." she whispered, smiling a bit. Eliot looked at it, and saw with a painful shot to his heart that it was his mother's fleur de lis that he'd given to her, all that time ago. She'd kept it, and still wore it. Eliot looked down at her.

"Don't do this, Ava. Please. Please God, don't give up." Ava lost consciousness. "NO!"

Just then, Parker came screeching around the corner. Eliot cradled Ava against his chest, and set her in the back seat. Parker got out of the driver's side, and let Eliot drive. "We'll follow you there." she said.

"The nearest hospital is five miles from here." Hardison said.

"Send me the address. I'm coming with." Sophie said. Eliot nodded. "Nate, Parker, Hardison, take care of the kids first. Go ahead with the original plan as far as the orphanage goes. The smoke from the explosion will bring the cops in. Then meet us at the hospital." Sophie said. No one argued, they just acted.

Sophie stayed in the back seat with Ava, keeping pressure on her wound. She murmured to her, talking comforting nonsense to Ava. "She's drifting in and out of consciousness. That's a good sign, Eliot." Sophie said. Eliot nodded, and drove like a madman at a hundred miles per hour all the way to the hospital. He wished violently that they were back in the States, were emergency medical care was the best of the best, but he'd have to deal with what he had there in Serbia. They made it to the hospital in less than five minutes. Eliot screeched to a halt in front of the doors, cutting off an ambulance. He got out of the car, ran to the back, and pulled Ava out and into his arms as carefully as he could.

He jogged into the hospital, moving as fast as he could without jostling Ava. Sophie followed right on his heels. They burst through the doors, and immediately doctors rushed over to them. They spoke in Russian, and luckily so did Sophie. Eliot understood some, but not everything. Especially since it was all medical terms. But they put Ava on a gurney, and began working on her immediately. Eliot stayed directly at her side, holding her hand tightly in his. She came to for a few moments, long enough to say his name, and make him swear not to leave. "I swear it." he said. "I'm staying right by your side. Forever, Ava. Do you hear me? Forever." he said. Her eyes shone with tears, and then she was out again.

The doctors were speaking to him, telling him he had to let her go. "No." he growled in Russian. "I won't leave her." They looked urgent, and said something about an operating room.

"Eliot, they need to do surgery." Sophie said, touching his shoulder. "Let them save her." she said. Eliot loosened his grip on her hand, then stepped back. They practically ran down the hallway, and into a room Eliot knew he wouldn't be allowed to enter.

Eliot turned away from the room, and he and Sophie were led into a different one where they were expected to wait for news. Eliot sat down heavily, and Sophie put a hand on his arm.

"She'll be okay, Eliot. She's a fighter. She'll fight for it." she said. Eliot nodded, wanting to believe, but fear still held his heart tightly in an iron fist. He'd never been so afraid in his entire life.

"If she doesn't... if she doesn't pull through..." he started.

"Don't think like that." Sophie said.

"I can't help it. If she doesn't make it, neither will I." Eliot said, staring her straight in the eye, his eyes terrifyingly steady. Sophie came to a horrible understanding that Eliot wouldn't survive Ava's death. He simply wouldn't… couldn't.

Luckily Sophie was saved from having to respond to that, because then the rest of the team came into the room. "How is she?" Nate asked.

"They took her into the OR about two minutes ago. They said her heart beat was strong, a miracle considering how close the bullet came. But because her pulse was so strong, she lost a lot of blood. They have to work to stop the bleeding." Sophie said. Parker bit her lip, and Hardison held his head in his hands.

"She'll be okay though, right?" Parker asked Sophie. She didn't answer for a moment, and she became distraught. Her eyes filled with tears. "She'll be okay, right Sophie? She has to be!" she cried. Sophie stood, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"It's okay, Parker. She'll be okay." she said. Parker nodded, and held in tears.

The team all loved Ava like family, and none of them wanted to face the reality that she might not survive. The minutes dragged on for years, hours into lifetimes. Eliot sat deadly still the entire time, while the team fidgeted and paced. But he was still as a statue, doing the only thing he could think to do, though he hadn't done it in... Well, ever really. He prayed. He made brash promises to God, all in exchange for her life. And as the time wore on, they all boiled down to one thing. _Take me instead of her. Let me take her place. Let me die instead of her_.

Those thoughts ran a racetrack through his mind, around and around, until his life seemed to be centered around those sole thoughts and everything else faded away. _Don't let her die. Take my life, give it to her._

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, a doctor in sea foam green scrubs that were smeared with blood came out of the OR. Eliot moved for the first time in hours, and was on his feet and at the doctor's side in seconds. The doctor gave him the news, and Eliot closed his eyes. His strength failed, and he fell to his knees...

**Ending Note:** Not telling you anything! Cause I'm evil like that. Next chapter tomorrow morning! Stay tuned to find out! And PLEASE review! I need a fix on my review addiction! After all this time not writing, I'm going through withdrawls, LOL.


	15. Knowing What's Worth Living For Ch 15

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity.**

**Author's Note**: Hey everyone! Sorry for the cliff hanger on the last chapter. Here's the next chapter! Beware, major LEMONS! Hehehe. Hope you like this one!

**Knowing What's Worth Living For**

She was alive. She was alive. She would live. She would live. She would be okay. Eliot's mind raced with the words, and the iron fist of fear that had been around his heart loosened, and evaporated like smoke. He heard the team whoop and shout behind him, and he stayed on his knees, and thanked God over and over. But he couldn't help but wonder if now he really did have to forfeit his life, since she lived. But he figured he would have been struck down or something, and _then_ Ava would have lived. The doctor was talking, and Eliot wasn't listening until he said that Ava was out of surgery and in Room 21. Eliot was up like a runner off the starting line, and bolted past the doctor to find her. He found her, sleeping peacefully in the hospital bed, in a paper gown, looking like a flower made of glass. Eliot's breath came out in a whoosh, and he walked slowly towards her, afraid if he moved faster that his legs would give out. Then he sat down heavily, held her hand in his, and wept silently.

He leaned over carefully, and gently stroked her neck, finding her pulse. He felt it beat under his fingertips, strong and steady. He kissed her hair gently, let her scent fill him up. He needed this. Needed to see and feel for himself that she lived. As he leaned back, Ava's eyes fluttered, and opened. She was clearly still out of it. "Eliot..."

"Shh... It's going to be okay. Go back to sleep." he said.

"I was afraid. So afraid." she said, trying to focus. Her heart beat fluttered, and made the machine hooked to her, beep agitatedly.

"Shh... Ava, I know. Try to sleep." he encouraged. Ava had a split moment of clarity, and her hand shot out and gripped his shirt. Her eyes were clear as green glass as she spoke.

"Forever." she said. "You promised me forever. I'll hold you to it." she said. Her grip loosened, and then she dropped off into sleep. Eliot's heart hammered in his chest. She'd heard him. And she wanted him to keep his promise. God, what on earth had he done to get this damned lucky? She was alive, and she wanted him by her side forever. Could it even be possible?

The team came in the room, only after they were certain that Ava had dropped off to sleep again. They hadn't wanted to interrupt Eliot's moment with her. While they waited, Parker had spoken. "They're in love, aren't they? Not the phony stuff, but the real deal? The forever one." she asked. Sophie smiled warmly, and couldn't be more pleased with the way things had turned out. Though she wished that it hadn't been necessary for Ava to have a near death experience for it to happen.

"Yeah. The real deal, the forever one." She said. Parker beamed. Then, after a moment of thought, turned around and planted a whooper of a kiss on Hardison. When she released him, he stood there dazed for a second, then let out a sound a man makes after being electrocuted.

"DAMN!" he shouted. "What was that?" he asked. Parker grinned.

"Isn't that what people are supposed to do at times like this? I always see it in movies, and wanted to give it a shot." she said.

"And I was handy?" Hardison asked indignantly.

"Well there's that, and you're cute." she said. Just then, Ava fell asleep again, so Parker danced into the room. Hardison seemed dazed, and then grinned like a fool. Sophie laughed as he staggered into the room after Parker.

"Ah, office romances. They're so fickle, and fascinating, aren't they?" she asked Nate, tossing him a meaningful look. Then she went into Ava's room. Nate sighed, and followed after.

Ava's recovery was a long and painful process. As it turned out, Ava _despised_ hospitals. Couldn't stand them. Eliot thought it probably had something to do with her mother, but didn't comment on it. She threw temper tantrums often, insisting that she was fine, and wanted to go home. No one listened to her. She was in the hospital in Serbia for two weeks, and then she was stable enough to be transferred back to Boston. She was in the hospital there for three weeks, and was NOT happy about it. When her cumulative five weeks stay was finished, she was strong and healthy again. Or so she insisted. It had been almost two months, and the entire time, Eliot stayed with her. He slept in the hospital, brought her books, movies, and music from her apartment, and talked with her for hours.

They didn't speak of what they'd said in that time that Ava had been delirious with pain, but it was understood that Eliot wouldn't be leaving, and they'd be talking about it as soon as she was healed. The one thing that confused her though, was that he wouldn't touch her. He wouldn't touch her in any way other than what could flinchingly described as friendly. He'd hold her hand, and often did, brush her hair from her face, and things of that sort, but never once moved to kiss her. Never once looked at her in a way that made her think he found her desirable. Not once. It worried her a little, and found it difficult to be patient.

Two months after she had been shot, she was released from the hospital and began physical therapy. She breezed through it liked she got shot on a regular basis. After two weeks, she was cleared for light duty, and a week after that, she was free and clear to do anything she wanted. She'd stayed with Sophie during the time that she was released from the hospital, because one; she hadn't wanted to go home until she was absolutely healed, and two; because she was supposed to be supervised until she was cleared for heavy duty.

The day before her last doctor's appointment, Ava went to go out for a drive. She wasn't cleared for it yet, but figured she knew her body better than some doctor, and he was probably going to give her the okay the next day anyways. She drove around the city for a while, and then when she got to the office, she saw Eliot's Mustang pulling away from the curb. Her curiosity was instantly piqued, and she had a problem with self control when it came to her curiosity. So what did she do? She followed him.

He drove for hours. He was headed North, and so she followed suit. It didn't take her long to figure out where he was headed. New York. Her city. She didn't know why, but she couldn't wait to find out. It was mid afternoon by the time they reached New York, since they'd left relatively early. He drove straight through the heart of New York, and kept going. Ava's heart tightened. She knew exactly where he was going now. He was going home. Her home.

She followed him to the drive, making sure he didn't spot her. She parked a ways back, then jogged briskly to her mother's memorial. It stood in the heart of the estate, where the house had been. A large fountain, surrounded by gardens that were sleeping in the cool January air. A bench sat in front of the fountain, facing the sprouting water, and Eliot sat, staring into the shimmering pool. She stayed to the woods that surrounded the estate, and watched. She saw his mouth moving, and thought he must be speaking out loud. Talking to her... to her mother.

Ava's heart just about broke. She wondered how many times he'd came here, to talk to a woman that he'd befriended, and lost. He'd lost her too, Ava realized. Not in the same way that she had lost her, but lost her all the same. Ava swiped the tears of her cheeks, and laughed shakily. If she wasn't already in love with him, that would have done her in right then and there. She'd already half forgiven him, but this sealed it. The man had driven nearly five hours just to visit her mother's memorial. A woman he hadn't known well, but had well liked. Ava slipped back to her car, and drove back to Boston, her mind reeling with the decision she'd made.

It was full dark by the time that she got back, but that was okay. She went back to Sophie's, and told her that if the doctor declared her healed the next day, she'd be going back home. Sophie smiled, and said she understood. When she asked where'd she'd gone to, Ava told her the truth. She'd gone to visit her mother. She'd offered her comfort and sympathy, both of which Ava accepted with gratitude.

The next day, Ava's heart raced. She was free and clear, and the doctor had even told her so. She'd healed fully from her wound, and was ready to get back to work. But Ava had something else in mind for the next day... or two. She'd asked Eliot to give her a ride home from Sophie's house, because in addition to the Mustang, he had several other vehicles, including a truck. It proved helpful to her luggage. Which she had a lot of. But they both understood that she wanted to speak to him back at her place.

They didn't speak until they where upstairs. Eliot set down her bags, which he'd carried despite Ava's insistence that she could help. He'd done that a lot lately. Treating her like she was fragile, insisting on helping her in any way he could. Ava thought he might feel guilty about her getting shot, which was only one of the things she wanted to clear up that day.

They stood in her living room, about ten paces apart. Eliot near her couch, Ava just inside the entry way. "I need to talk to you, Eliot." Ava started. Eliot nodded. Ava took a deep breath. "I followed you yesterday." she blurted out. It hadn't been her plan to start there, but it was as good a place as any. Eliot's eyes clouded, and she knew that he understood what she was talking about.

"Why?" he asked. Ava shrugged.

"Curiosity. I have terrible manners when it comes to my curiosity." she said. He frowned.

"But I didn't spot you." he said. Ava couldn't help but feel a little smug. She smiled.

"I'm good." she said. He continued to frown. Ava shrugged. "I imagine you were distracted." she offered. He waved that off.

"No. You're right, you're good." he said. Ava felt a surge of pleasure. He said it in such a casually humble tone, she felt pride warm her from her toes to her hair follicles.

"Thanks." she said. He shrugged. Ava cleared her throat. "How often have you gone to see her?" she asked. Eliot stared at her in that steady, silent way that he always did, and she fought off a shiver.

"A couple." he said. She waited. "Five or six." he said. Ava closed her eyes against the flood of emotion that filled her. Somewhere around once a month. Jesus. This was definitely the man for her. Flaws and all.

"Eliot, do you have any idea how that makes me feel?" she whispered.

"No." he answered honestly.

"Good. Really good." she said, smiling gently.

"I need to know what you want Ava. I need to know." he said, that voice that killed her, rough with emotion.

"You. I want you Eliot." she said firmly. Eliot shut his eyes.

"God Ava. I've put you through so much pain. I destroyed your life, at the worst possible time." he said.

"I know. And I was angry and hurt for the longest time. But now I see what I forced myself to ignore. You didn't do it on purpose, Eliot. You never intentionally hurt me. It was just an unpleasant side effect of you doing your job. And you didn't want to, Eliot. You didn't want to hurt me." she whispered. He shook his head.

"No, I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know that now. And I know now that I could never, ever stop loving you. Not even when I wanted to. For months I've longed for you, your touch, your kiss. Longed to hear you say you love me. And wished that I didn't. But everything is different now." she said.

"Why? Why is it so different? What made you see?" he asked.

"Like I said before... sometimes you have to die to see what's worth living for." she said.

Eliot's eyes flashed with pain, and he physically recoiled from her words. "I was right there Eliot. Just a breath away from leaving forever. And all I could think is that I'd die without kissing you one last time. I'd die, and you'd never know that I still loved you. That I always will. And so I came back. You brought me back. I followed your voice back from that dark place, your hand kept me anchored here. I don't care how crazy that sounds. It's true. You kept me here." Eliot shook his head.

"Ava... The thought of you leaving forever made me die inside. If you hadn't pulled through... I wouldn't have survived it." Those killer blue eyes spoke only of truth. A thrill of fear and exhilaration thrummed through her. That kind of love and devotion was a once in a lifetime find. And to think she'd almost lost it. "But..." Oh jeez. He had to go and use that word. That most hated of words. "I'm no good for you Ava. After all I've put you through, what if I did it again? What if I hurt you?" he demanded. His face was a picture of frustration and anger... at himself. Ava shook her head.

"Eliot, I told you already. You hurt me, accidently, so you could help that woman, bring her justice. I spoke to her, you know." she said casually. Eliot blinked.

"What?"

"The woman who hired you, Lisa Porter? I went to see her."

"When?"

"A little before I came here. She told me all about how the team had saved her family's business, the last thing that she had of her father, and had finally given him justice. It's part of the reason that I came to find you." she said. Eliot shook his head again.

"Ava, I'm no white knight." he said. Ava rolled her eyes.

"What is it with men and their obsession with this white knight?" she muttered. She took a step towards him, and then another. "I don't want a white knight, Eliot. I'd take the prince of thieves on a black horse, over a knight in shining armor on a white horse any day." she murmured sultrily. Ava thought he looked so close to that edge of forgiveness, he was just afraid to take that last step to fall. So she gave him one last little push. "I've already forgiven you, Eliot. All that's left between us, is for you to forgive yourself." she said. Eliot's eyes flashed, and suddenly everything just clicked. With one look, she made him understand. She wanted him. They belonged together. And everything would be okay.

Eliot's big frame shook with need for her. "I'm afraid to touch you." he said harshly. Ava grinned wickedly.

"Don't be." she whispered. Just as the first time they made love, they each took a lightning fast step towards each other, met in the middle, and wrapped around each other. Ava leapt up onto his torso, and fisted her fingers viciously in his hair. His arms locked solidly around her small waist, and they did their best to devour each other. Lips, tongue, and teeth were used in a fight for dominance, greedy mouths and hands struggling desperately for more. More, more, more. Their minds whispered in unison. More, more, always more.

Ava's fingers raced to undo the buttons on Eliot's shirt, and in her rush popped some of them off. She shoved the interfering fabric aside, and then tugged the tank top he had on underneath off. And finally she had her hands on skin. She reveled in it, raking her nails over his naked back. He growled, and ripped her shirt clean in two. Ava blinked in shock, and then grinned. "God, I forgot how much I love that." she muttered. Eliot returned her grin, and then set about reacquainting himself with the taste of her neck.

"Bedroom." he growled against her skin. Ava laughed huskily, and then moaned as her eyes rolled in the back of her head. He'd found that magic spot between neck and shoulder with unerring accuracy.

"Not gonna make it." she said. Eliot hummed against her skin, sending vibrations down her flesh, and fire into her core.

"Couch then." he said, then fixed his mouth to her breast. Ava half screamed, and threw back her head.

"_Not going to make it there either_." She panted. And so Eliot went to his knees, and laid her down on the floor.

His hands raked down her rib cage, and she arched her back. "Yes… More!" she cried. He undid her jeans, and his fingers dove ruthlessly into her heat. This time she really did scream. His name. She came hard and fast, and was panting and damp with sweat in three seconds flat. Eliot practically shredded her underwear, and then she was gloriously naked, spread out like a feast on her hardwood floor. And he was the only dinner guest. Eliot grinned wolfishly, and then set about tasting every last inch of her. His hands and mouth did outrageously tortuous to her body, and she writhed and bucked underneath him. And still she couldn't get enough. She had to have more. She had to have him. Inside her. NOW.

She shoved them both up so that they were upright on the floor, and popped the snap on his jeans. He hissed as she yanked the zipper down, and then helped her shove them down his hips with his boxers. Then it was skin against skin, and Ava could swear that she heard a hallelujah chorus running on a loop inside her head. Mouths met again, and they were back to lying down on the floor. They rolled, and Ava grinned. She did every torturous thing to Eliot as he'd done to her. Her tongue slicked over warm skin, hands smoothed over toned muscle, until they were both half wild with desire. Eliot's body shook with the effort to control himself, and Ava trembled desperately with need.

Eliot rolled again, and pinned her to the floor. She gasped as one of his hands locked around her wrists and pinned them above her head. Her hips arched in invitation towards his, and she whimpered. "Please Eliot… now!" she begged. His free hand clamped around her hip, and he kept her down. She squirmed, but couldn't break his grip.

"You're mine." He growled. Ava's eyes locked on his. Blazing blue to smoky green. "Say it." he demanded. Ava panted, and moaned.

"Yours." She whispered.

"Forever. Promise me." Ava squirmed, her eyes closing, her mind fixed on one goal, and one goal alone. Him filling her until she couldn't remember how it felt to be empty. "Promise me, Ava!" he snarled. Some corner of her mind, the one that wasn't under the complete and utter control of hormones, knew that this was important. She had to say something. Had to.

Ava's eyes locked onto his once more. "Yours." she repeated. "Forever more." Her hips arched at the same time she spoke, and Ava knew her response broke his control. She could practically hear it snap as his fingers dug into hips, and then in one vicious thrust filled her. Ava cried out, and her newly released hands slammed to the floor, as she tried desperately to hang onto something solid and anchored. He filled her again and again, until all Ava could do was grip his shoulders and hang on tight. He was the center of her universe, the only thing that was keeping her from falling into oblivion. And then they both leapt of the edge, and went flying off the wild cliff of pure pleasure.

After they came to, they were both lying flat on their backs, panting madly, trying to get their breath back. "I think I saw God." Ava said after a moment. "She looked pleased."

"She?" Eliot asked curiously.

"Call me a feminist but, I always thought God should be a chick." she said. Eliot laughed, sounding very out of breath.

"Whatever you believe, sweetheart." he said. Ava shivered.

"We're going to do that again. As soon as I get feeling back in my limbs." she said.

"Agreed." Ava rolled slowly, and arranged herself over Eliot's chest. Eliot made a pleased sound deep in his chest.

Eliot's hands slowly stroked up and down her naked torso, sending delightful shivers dancing over her skin. She shuddered, and rolled over so she was fully on top of him. She kissed him, teasing her tongue over his, drawing it into her mouth, then sucking. Eliot moaned, and gripped her hips tightly. He broke the kiss to begin a lazy journey of kisses over her neck, chest, and torso. Ava smiled lazily, savoring the feeling of his mouth over her skin. She couldn't believe how much she'd missed it. And she planned to never go that long without it again.

"How many rooms are in your apartment?" Eliot asked suddenly. Ava's mind struggled to focus on something other than that devil's mouth.

"I don't know… twelve, maybe? On this floor anyways." she said. "Why?" Eliot grinned up at her, then shifted, rolled, scooped her up, and cradled her in his arms with such dangerous grace, and lethal strength, that Ava felt shaken.

"Because honey, I'm of a mind that we've got some catching up to do." he said. Ava's eyes widened.

"Jesus, Eliot. Do you mean…?"

"Uh huh. We're gonna christen every last one of them." he said. Ava's jaw dropped, and was glad that she had taken her vitamins that morning…

There were eleven. Eleven glorious rooms, counting the guest and master baths. They got to eight of them that night. The last room was hers, and Eliot made love to her slowly, and thoroughly in her bed, with such tenderness, such gentleness, tears dripped quietly down her cheeks. The next morning, they made it to the last three. Afterwards, Ava was having a little difficulty walking. She was sore, achy, exhausted, and had never felt better in her life.

She lay in her bed, snuggled into his button up shirt, inhaling his scent, and going over all eleven love-making session in her mind. Eliot was in the kitchen, calling in take-out for lunch. He came back in, and lay down next to her, pulling her into his bare chest. Ava sighed contentedly. "I don't think I've ever had better make up sex." she said. Eliot chuckled.

"I don't think anyone has." he said. Ava grinned. She thought for a moment, and then sat up.

"I have a question. Well, a proposition really." Ava said. Eliot raised a brow.

"Alright…" He said slowly.

"I want you to move in with me." she said, getting right to the point. He blinked in surprise.

"What?" He asked, sounding dumbfounded. Ava frowned.

"Don't look at me like that. It's not that surprising an idea, is it?" she asked. She didn't give him a chance to answer however. "I want you to move in. I don't know what your place looks like, but judging from what you room looked like back at the Hamptons something tells me that you don't do a whole lot of personal stuff, or material objects. And this place is quickly becoming my home. So, it only makes sense that you would move in with me." Eliot still wasn't saying anything. Ava rushed on. "That's not to say that I wouldn't mind splitting the time, between your place and mind, if you were really stuck on it. I mean, it'd be a pain to travel back and forth, but not so much that it would bug me. But I mean we really should have a home base just for practicality's sake." she said, her words becoming a little jumbled. He still remained quiet. "And besides, I refuse to spend more time away from you than necessary… And Finn misses you too." she said, in a last, desperate ditch effort.

Eliot laughed, and grinned. "God but you're the girl for me." he said before pressing a hot kiss to her mouth. She let out a relieved, and a little breathless, laugh.

"Is that a yes?" she asked. He grinned.

"So much more than a yes." he said. "You're right. I'm not much for personal material possessions. There isn't much at my place beyond necessities, and nothing that can't be moved here with easily. And you're right; this place is becoming your home." he said. Ava smiled, and kissed him tenderly. God but she loved this man. Then a thought came to her.

"Hey, Eliot? How good are you with construction work?" she asked. He frowned.

"I worked on my share of construction crews in my youth. Why do you ask?"

"Well, there's a lot I want to do with the building. I've already contacted a crew, but I want someone that I trust to supervise, and help with the things that I want to do myself." she said. She paused, and smiled. "And I also want you to feel like the place is your home too." Eliot smiled, and touched his forehead to hers.

"It already does. Because you're here. And anywhere that you are feel like home." he whispered. Ava's eyes misted, and her throat ached with tears.

"Now see what you've gone and done?" she murmured. He chuckled quietly, and gently lifted her chin so she'd look at him.

"You were the first home I ever wanted to stay at. You will always be home." he said. Ava made a small helpless sound, and half flung herself into his waiting arms. She cried quietly for several moments, trying to come to grips with the depths of both hers, and his emotions. She kept thinking; how on earth did she ever find such a deep love in such an unexpected place. And he wondered what the hell he did to deserve such an amazing woman. He didn't know, but he knew exactly what he was going to do to keep her.

After a while, the phone rang. Ava swiped at the remaining tears, and smiled, kissing Eliot softly. Then she went in the kitchen to answer it. Eliot waited in the bedroom, and made a phone call of his own. After it was done, his decision was made, and Eliot felt a sense of right settle over him. He knew that it was the one of the best decisions he'd ever made. His thoughts sparked a memory, and he suddenly remembered what he'd been planning on doing before he'd gotten... distracted last night. He went into the kitchen after Ava, who was just hanging up the phone. "Who was it?" he asked.

"Sophie. She was just saying that Nate wasn't feeling well, and so he wouldn't be taking any jobs for a few days." Eliot held in a smile.

"He okay?"

"Yeah, Sophie said it was just a bug." Ava said. Eliot chuckled to himself. He knew damned well Nate was fine, and that Sophie was just subtly giving him and Ava time to themselves. He wondered how she's convinced Nate to do the same. Then again, she was the one who wore the pants in that relationship, so he guessed it hadn't been that hard.

"What is it?" Ava asked, smiling automatically in response to his laugh. Eliot shook his head.

"Nothing." He dug into his jean pocket, and pulled out the silver chain that had belonged to his mother. "I think you should have this back." he said. Ava's eyes warmed, and she smiled. She pulled it over her head. "Did you really never think about taking it off?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Never. Not even once. Then again, I never really thought about wearing it either. It was... an instinctive reaction I suppose. An unconscious decision to keep a piece of you close to my heart." she said, smiling. Eliot was silent a long moment, just studying her face in the steady way that he always did. Then he took her back into her room, and made love to her. It was slow and easy, tender and sweet. When they were both satisfied and spent, he pulled her close again, and curled her into his body, shifting so that his body shielded hers, and she felt completely and utterly safe.

The next morning, Ava woke to a bed empty of Eliot, but full of Finn. Ava smiled, and rubbed his silky fur, and he made a grumbling sound of pleasure. Ava and Finn walked together into the kitchen where she found a note, just as she knew she would.

_Ava, gone out to run an errand, but thought Finn could keep you company while I was out. Be home soon. Love you. _  
_Eliot._

Ava smiled at the 'be home soon' part, and then set about making some breakfast. She watched T.V, took a shower, went to the market around to corner to stock up on food, and even took Finn for a run. She did everything she could to keep her mind occupied. For Christ's sake the man had only been gone a few hours and she was already twitchy. But she was FINE. FINE! Mostly...  
She had fallen asleep on the couch after her run, and awoke to the sound of steps on her stairs. She knew it was Eliot because of the sound his heavy work boots made on the wood. Ava smiled, and sat up just as he opened the door and stepped inside. He smiled back. "Hey. Miss me?" he teased. She grinned.

"You were gone?" He laughed, and shook his head.

"There were a few things I needed to do." he said. Ava didn't ask, but waited for him to tell her. "I went to my apartment." he said.

"Oh?"

"All my things are downstairs in my truck. Mind giving me a hand?" he asked.

Ava grinned, sprung to her feet, and pounced on him. After showing him just how much she didn't mind, Eliot just grinned. They walked downstairs, and Beck helped them move the dozen or so boxes from Eliot's truck to Ava's room. They started putting things away immediately, both of them wanting it to be official. Eliot hung his clothes in the closet and put them in drawers, put the necessities in the bathroom, and asked Ava where he should put the miscellaneous personal items he had. She said where ever they felt right. Leave it to a woman to make a simple question into a complicated task. But, complicated or not, Eliot got all of his things put away eventually where both he and Ava were happy.

After it was all finished, Ava moved from room to room, smiling like a loon. "What are you doing?" Eliot asked finally. She looked at him, her eyes shining.  
"I feel you here now. I can see you, in every room. I like it." she said simply. "Now it's really home." Eliot couldn't have agreed more. They spent the rest of the evening and into the next day just enjoying being together. There was no job to be done yet, no other worries to bother them, and so they were able to completely and fully relax for the first time in a long time.

Three days after Eliot had moved in with Ava, he had all his ducks in a row, so to speak. Everything was planned, and he thought he'd done pretty well, for a guy that didn't really have a romantic bone in his body. Or so he thought. Sophie however disagreed, after Eliot had explained his plan to her, to make sure it was ok. She'd made a few adjustments, but all in all his plan was brilliant. And she couldn't wait to hear Ava's reaction. Even though she had a pretty good idea of what it would be.

That night, Eliot told Ava that he was taking her to dinner, and that she should dress up. "Dress up?" she asked, frowning. "What's the occasion?" Eliot smiled, and shook his head.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise." Ava pouted.

"I don't like surprises." she said.

"Only because you're so damn impatient."

"Well yes, but that's not the point." Ava said. Eliot chuckled, and gave her a nudge towards the bedroom.

"It's entirely the point. Now go get dressed."

Ava pretended to pout, but as soon as she was in the bedroom, out of sight, she dashed to the closet to get ready. She liked to tease him, but really, she was nearly shaking with excitement. Eliot hardly ever did things like this, so she knew that when he did, it was going to be fantastic. She pulled out a simple, but sexy and slinky black halter dress with a plunging v-neck and scandalous hem length. She wasn't going to pass up this opportunity. Ava left her hair down in cascading curls, wore simple and sparkling jewelry, fuck me pumps, and a few splashes of her favorite perfume. After smoking up her eyes, and reddening her lips, she was ready. She came out of the bathroom, expecting Eliot to be waiting for her in the bedroom. But he wasn't.

Ava opened her mouth to call out, but paused when she saw something on the floor. She smiled. A single, perfect red rose. Eliot wouldn't have gone for the cliché trail of rose petals, but the flower was even better. She picked it up, and read the scrawled note tucked in its petals. _Hurry_. Ava grinned. Of course he wasn't going to give her any clues. Alright then, she thought. Follow the flowers. She left the bedroom, and made her way to the door. There was another rose tucked into her door handle. She plucked it, and moved out of the apartment. She followed the simple trail of flowers until she was at the stairs to the roof. Her heart began to pound, as she moved quickly up the stairs. When she opened the door to the roof, her heart stopped at what she saw…

**Ending Note: **Hehehe, another cliff hanger. I know, I'm evil. Anyways, you guys knew I wasn't going to let Ava die. That'd just be downright cruel. Anywho, I hope you liked this chapter. :D Thanks again to everyone who has read, faved, reviewed, and supported this story. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. :D And major thanks go to my awesomely beta, Trapper Creek Kaniac. She rocks my socks! XD Pretty please review! I love knowing what you guys think. :)


	16. The Two Davids Job Ch 16

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity.**

**Author's Note**: Hey peeps! I'm so excited to have this chapter finally done. I was having a little difficulty with inspiration (which is why this took so long), but now I have so many ideas bumping around, I'm itching to get back to writing again! :D This chapter is kind of short, and not really a filler, but a kind of leading up chapter. I hope you like it!

**The Two Davids Job**

She was simply breathless. It was... stunning. The roof of her apartment had been turned into a five star restaurant. There were candles and roses everywhere, and a table set for two waiting for her. He'd snagged one of her CDs, and the low, smoky voice of the lead singer of Lifehouse played in the background. But none of that could compare to the man himself. He was in black slacks, a dark tee shirt, and a sport coat. Dressy casual, and damned sexy.

Eliot's thoughts ran along the same lines. But he thought that there was nothing casual about the sexiness of Ava's dress. She was blatantly trying to torture him. But that was ok. He wouldn't have it any other way. He loved watching her face as she walked through the door. She had the roses clutched loosely in her hand, hanging by her hip, and her face lit up when she saw the scene laid out before her. Her eyes shone with tears, and her mouth parted in surprise. Then her gaze met his, and her whole body softened. He felt a tremor of need for her, but pushed it back. He had to stay focused.

He walked forward, and in classic Eliot style simply gripped her arms, pulled her up to her toes, and slanted his mouth over hers. Ava responded immediately, and groaned in pleasure. When he set her down again, Ava grinned. No wussy hand kiss for her man. He did what felt right for him, never tried to be something he wasn't, and Ava loved that. She touched his cheek, and saw his face soften. "This is stunning." she whispered. "What's the occasion?" she asked. He smiled.

"You'll see." he said. Then he wrapped his arm around her waist, and led her to the little table he'd set.

Ava sat down, and put the flowers in the middle of the table. There was a plate of spaghetti for each of them, a little basket of garlic bread, and salad. Ava's eyes misted again. It was the first meal that he'd taught her to cook. She smiled, and met his gaze. Gods, his smile was so tender, his eyes warm and soft. She could go on forever just looking at him. And she had to be in love with him, because only love made you think cheesy stuff like that.

The conversation flowed easily, and they were both completely relaxed with each other. And when they didn't talk, they enjoyed the companionable silent that took its place. Eliot told himself he was waiting until the right moment, but really he wanted to wait until the last moment because he was scared spit-less. He was terrified that her answer wouldn't be the one he was hoping for. And he wanted this. He wanted it so bad he was nearly shaking. He couldn't stand it if she rejected him here, when he needed her acceptance the most.

Ava watched Eliot's behavior change subtly as the end of the meal drew near. He became a little tense, and there were lines of worry tracing his face. Ava sipped the shimmering champagne, and wondered what he was thinking about that made him so nervous. Usually Eliot was her rock, her steadying force. She'd only seen him shaken a few times, so it was odd to see him so jumpy then.

When the last of the delicious meal had been devoured, Eliot's eyes clouded, and she saw him take a steadying breathe. Ava's heart began to race, his anxiety rubbing off on her. She couldn't wait to see what he had planned. Eliot glanced at her, and saw her pulse thrumming quick and light at her neck, and thought she was just as anxious for this as him. He wondered if she suspected, and then banished the thought. He needed to focus, to do this right. She deserved this to be done right.

Eliot stood, and walked around the table to gently tug Ava to her feet. Her eyes danced with anticipation. "Do I get the surprise now?" she murmured. He couldn't help but smile. She was so impatient. He nodded. She bit her lip, and waited for him to begin.

"Ava, I'm not much on words, but I'm going to try and get these ones right, because I know how important they are." he said. Ava's heart did a dizzying spin, and she nodded. "I love you," he said simply. "I love you with everything that I am. I know I'm no good for you, but we've tried being apart, and that ended badly. I'm no good for you," he repeated. "But you make me a better man. There's no two ways about it. When I'm with you, I am the man that I want to be. I'm stronger with you. And I like to think that you're stronger with me too.

A life with me will be dangerous, I can't tell you different. But I swear to you, here and now, that I will always put you first, you and nothing else. I will always keep you safe, no matter what." Ava's eyes filled with tears, but she bit them back. For someone who said he wasn't good with words, he was sure on a roll. "I would die for you, Ava." he murmured. Oh, that did it. No one can hear that and not weep. "I would die for you, and I sure as hell can't live without you. And I want to give you that promise, and I want you to give it back to me as well." Ava opened her mouth to say that it was his, when he stopped her. "Just wait. I want you Ava. All of you. Your mind, your heart, soul. But I also want your tomorrow. I want your forever." he said. Ava stopped breathing.

Eliot got down on one knee, and Ava's heart raced into overdrive. "And I want to give you my tomorrow, my forever." he pulled a little black box out of his jacket pocket.

"Oh my god," Ava gasped. He opened the box, and nestled lovingly inside, was the most gorgeous ring Ava had ever seen. A white gold band twisted in intricate Celtic knot work, and cradled in the center was a stunning emerald, with two diamonds on either side. She wanted it the moment she saw it.

"Ava, will you marry me?" he asked. In that moment, Ava swore the world stopped turning for a moment. For one stunning moment, the world held its breath. Every thought was banished from Ava's mind. Every thought but one.

"Yes." Ava's entire being whispered the word, and she figured she must have said it out loud too, because Eliot grinned, and literally swept her off her feet, and held her tightly. "Yes, yes, yes, yes." she said it over and over again, making sure he had no doubts about her answer.

Eliot set her down gently, and then kissed her. There was so much emotion behind it, Ava's heart trembled. She poured herself into the kiss, wanting him to feel like she did. Ava slid her fingers into the gorgeous length of his hair, and wrapped herself around him. She held on tightly, thinking that if she wasn't anchored to something solid, she would lose herself in the sea of emotion flooding her. Mouths met, and met again, tongues slid excitingly, arousing them both as their breath mingled. So wrapped up in each other that it was impossible to tell where one left off and the other began. Hand slid over fabric, shaping to the flesh beneath, heating the hidden skin.

Ava pulled away, both of them short of breath. "You always said you'd never marry. Said that it wouldn't be fair. That you weren't the settling down type(,)." she panted breathlessly. They'd the discussion once before she'd known who he was really. Eliot had told her those things, and at the time they'd been true. But not anymore.

"I know. And I believed them before. But now I know that everyone is the settling down type. They just have to find the right person, because if you do, it doesn't feel like settling down. I know I will never have a bored day with you." he said, grinning. "I love you. You are my home. I plan on spending the rest of my life with you, so I figure getting married just makes sense. And I figure you're the more traditional type in that area. As it turns out I am too, kind of." he said. His eyes darkened, and Ava felt a thrill of excitement. "You're mine. I have no doubt about that. But I want to make sure that everyone else knows it too." he all but growled. Ava shivered. She loved him so damned much, all of him. His softer side, the side that thought of this dinner, and the darker, rougher side. The side that was looking out through his eyes now.

Eliot watched Ava's eyes darken with passion, and then glint wickedly. She leaned up on her toes, and then nipped at his neck. "I'm yours, huh?" she breathed. Eliot made a rumbling sound deep his chest, which sounded suspiciously like a growl.

"Yes." He felt her chuckle against his skin, and his body vibrated with the need to take her.

"Prove it." Eliot's body responded to the dare before his mind did. His arms came around her in a flash, lifting her up onto his torso. Her legs locked behind his back, and she pressed herself intimately against him. He clenched his jaw, and tightened his grip on her. He moved through the door, and down the stairs, trying to focus on putting one foot in front of the other when Ava was slithering against him, and nipping and licking at the skin of his neck.

When he finally got into her apartment, he was ready to rip that pretty dress in two. He somehow managed to keep a hold on his control until he got to their bedroom, and tossed her onto the bed. Then with an abrupt change of pace, he pushed all the urgency back, and slowly set up torturing them both into madness. By the time they both finally had been stripped naked, Ava was ready to weep with relief. Eliot made love to her slowly, with so much care, and gentleness, that Ava thought her heart would simply burst. When it was over, he held her tightly, and vowed to never let go.

They had a few more days to themselves, before they were called back into work. They decided to wait and tell the team, until the moment seemed right. So Ava wore the ring Eliot had gotten her around her neck on the same chain as the locket that she never took off. They did a few jobs that all ended well, but no one could ignore the fact that Nate's drinking was getting out of hand. He planned drunk, he went into jobs drunk, and came out of them drunk. It wasn't a pretty sight. Then, when they conned a man who was stealing from charities into going into rehab, Nate went in with him. It was pretty much completely awful.

Nate went into withdrawal, and went more than a little crazy. They still managed to get the job done, and there were even some amusing scenes with Parker on happy pills, but everyone knew that something had to be done about Nate. No one was quite sure what though. Until Sophie came up with the perfect plan. She laid it all out on the table for them. Ava needed some extra catching up, since she didn't know about Nate's past. When the team explained it to her, she wasn't sure whether she wanted to cry, or scream at someone. Instead she sat perfectly still, her eyes flashing.

"I want to break him." She said quietly after a moment, referring to the man that had let Nate's son die. "Is that why he…" she trailed off, but they knew she was talking about Nate's on and off binge drinking. Sophie nodded. Eliot had only ever seen Ava that furious once, and it was worse now because there was a child involved. The fury for a boy she hadn't known made him feel… well, proud. She was incredible.

"We all want him not only hurt. We all want him to sink so far down into a hole, that he'll never be able to climb back up." Sophie said. "I have a plan. Have any of you ever heard of the First and or Second David?" she asked. Before anyone could respond, Nate walked in.

"What's going on here?" he asked. The team stood. They had worked out this part already.

"Ian Blackpool." Ava started.

"CEO of IYS insurance." Parker continued.

"The man who-" Sophie began, but was interrupted by Nate's shout of rage.

"You're getting worse." Eliot said.

"Is this my intervention?" Nate asked incredulously. "I'm a functioning alcoholic. The trick is not to get hung up on the alcoholic part, and celebrate the functioning part of the sentence." He said. The team rolled their eyes. Nate was only that flamboyant when he was really smashed.

"No. You don't need an intervention." Sophie said, exasperated.

"You need revenge." Eliot said.

"We can give it to you." Ava finished.

Nate paused. "Alright, I'm listening." He said. Sophie had them all sit down, and took control of the computer screens from Hardison.

"Michael Angelo's David. The most famous statue in the world. Sculpted between 1501-1504, commissioned by the city of Florence."

"I know all this." Nate said.

"Hold on now, while you may be well versed in dead guy art, I am not. I am therefore riveted, so please, go on." Hardison said. Ava held in a snicker at his tone, and listened intently to Sophie's plan to steal the so-called Second David.

The First David was in Blackpool's restoration vault. The second had been bought, sold, and stolen so many times, it'd been lost. But the plan was, to convince Blackpool that they'd found it, and have Nate sell it to him. Sophie would go undercover as an Italian Art curator, Nate as himself of course, and Ava as an art expert. Hardison, Parker, and Eliot would wait in Lucille (that sounded so wrong) and work from there. They would sell Blackpool the fake, knowing that he couldn't resist the temptation of having both David's in his possession and on display for his upcoming gala, have it verified by Ava, and then when it was discovered as a fake, Blackpool would lose his company, money, and reputation. In short, he'd be ruined. It was a beautiful plan. In theory.

The first steps of the plan were going beautiful. Nate had done a little party crashing, Sophie had wooed Blackpool, and the he'd bought the story easily. He was practically giddy, and it rather sickened Ava. But after hearing over the com Parker play with the their fake David, and Hardison had told her to not "play with the little naked man" she'd felt considerably better. Everything was going great. Ava had even been chatting to a nice blonde woman, and was actually starting to like her, when she was instructed to meet Nate, Sophie, and Blackpool to talk about verifying the David. "But I think I made a friend." Ava said. Outside of the team, she didn't really have many friends, and the woman she was talking to was really nice.

"Bring her along. It'll help Blackpool trust you." Nate said.

So Ava brought her along. Little did she know, the woman, Maggie, was Nate's ex-wife. Oops. She found out the hard way. Oh, and the best part? She was working for Blackpool. And even better, he wanted her to verify the art. Can you say, damn? Maggie was a real art specialist. They'd never be able to pass off the fake. They needed the First David out of the vault, and they needed it now. Parker snagged a dress from Sophie's stash in the van, and Eliot and Hardison went in as wait staff. Parker and Hardison teamed up and went for the vault while Eliot stood watch. Thanks to Parker's habit of thinking of how to steal something, even if she wasn't necessarily going to steal it, ice, aluminum foil, eye shadow, a silk napkin, Hardison's tech skills, and a fake (or maybe not so fake) make out session between Hardison and Parker, they had the first David, and were in and out in under five minutes. Damned impressive.

Ava felt really bad, but she actually did like Nate's ex-wife. She could tell Sophie was less than pleased, and Nate was struggling to stay in character and not come off as needing a payout from the woman he used to be married to. When it was time to leave, Maggie gave Ava her number, saying that she'd like to hang out again sometime. Ava took the number, but felt really guilty about it. "Look Nate, I'm sorry, but she is really nice." She said when they were back at the office.

"Yeah, just a bucket of sunshine." Sophie muttered. Ava sighed, and Eliot gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Sophie turned and faced the team. "I think this could work to our advantage though. I mean, what if both of Blackpool's statues were fake? It's the perfect opportunity." Sophie said. Nate had an odd look on his face.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked. He and Sophie went into the other room, and closed the glass door. Whatever they were talking about wasn't good, because there was big hand gestures, shouting, and unhappy faces.

"That doesn't look good." Ava muttered. The team shook their heads.

Apparently they worked it out though, because they came back into the room, and the plan was set. The next day, everything was going according to plan. Hardison played the sheik who owned the David, Blackpool made the deal after both Ava and Maggie approved the statue, and it was all set. Until of course it all went to hell in a hand basket. Eliot had met up with Ava at the airport where the meeting had gone down to pick her up and take her back to the office. As she was moving towards the parking lot to meet him, she noticed a man with a camera. Immediately on alert, she called Eliot on his cell phone. "There's something wrong. Come inside." Eliot was out of his car, and inside in five seconds flat.

Ava moved towards the unknown man, and he turned to face her. He looked confused. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"None of your business." He said.

"I'm making it my business." He smiled cruelly.

"You know, I don't want to hurt you, especially since you're a woman. But I will if I have to." He said.

"That's kind of funny, because… I think I do want to hurt you." Ava said. She delivered a beautiful roundhouse kick to jaw just as Eliot came in. Then man recovered faster than she expected, and caught her with a right hook to the chin. Stars exploded in front of her eyes, and she staggered. She could take a punch, but the chin was a weak spot, and damn it, because she was a woman her jaw wasn't as sturdy. Her last thought as she started to lose consciousness was that it was so unfair sometimes to be a woman.

Eliot skidded to a stop, and stared in cold fury at the man. The stranger smiled brightly. "Ah, there you are." He said. "I've been looking for you, Eliot Spencer. I've heard a lot about you. I'm going to enjoy this." He said, beginning to circle him.

Eliot's eyes narrowed. "You touched her," he said simply. "You'll pay for that." After well placed blows on both sides, a broken rib and concussion each, Eliot came out on top. He knew he was better, but he also had the added motivation of wanting to kill the man who'd dared hurt Ava.

He picked her up gently, ignoring the pain in his side from the broken rib. She started to come to, and shifted in his arms. "I hate being a girl" was the first thing she said, and it was stated as a bitter mutter. Eliot laughed.

"Oh, and why is that?" he asked.

"Because, one stupid punch to the weak part of my jaw and I'm down for the count." She said, rubbing said chin and wincing. Eliot fought to keep from tightening his grip painfully on her.

"He touched you." He said roughly, looking back at the man. Ava saw the wheels turning in his head, and knew he was imagining wrapping his hands around the man's throat and tightening.

"Yes he did, and you stopped him from doing it again. I'm fine, and…" she drifted off, because she was going to say 'so are you' but then the fog on her brain lifted and she saw that he clearly wasn't. "Eliot! You're bleeding!" she cried.

"Yeah, I know. Part of the job." He said. She shifted in his arms, and he winced as she pressed against the broken rib. Being Ava, she didn't miss it.

"God damn it, Eliot! Your rib is probably broken. Put me down!" she demanded.

"No." he said stubbornly. Her eyes narrowed.

"Eliot, if you don't put me down, so help me, I will punch you in the ribs." He considered, but then realized she was probably just mad enough, and definitely stubborn enough to do it. He set her gently down, and she instantly kneeled and yanked up his shirt to inspect the ribs, and look for any other injuries he might have.

After inspecting him carefully, and ignoring his cracks about wanting to get his shirt off, she stood. "You'll be fine. You probably have a slight concussion, so if you get worse I'm taking you straight to the hospital." She said. Eliot resisted the urge to roll his eyes and tell her he'd had worse without medical care. Eliot focused his attention back on the job, now that he was sure Ava was safe.

"Nate, we're blown." He said.

"What's going on?" Nate demanded. A new voice came over the com, and everyone froze.

"Hello, Nate."

"Sterling. What have you done to Parker?" he demanded.

"She's fine. Hardison too, I assume.

"Yes sir." A new voice said.

"Mr. Quinn, how is Mr. Spencer doing?"

"Hey Sterling, I've got some dental work with your name on it. How about we hook up so I can give it to you?" Eliot growled. Ava smiled, but remained silent. Sterling didn't appear to know about her. She remembered him from the job they'd done in Kentucky, but it appeared that while he knew about the rest of the team, he wasn't aware of her existence.

Ava listened closely while Nate spoke with Sterling, and agreed to meet him. Ava noticed Nate never addressed her over the com, and thought he must have realized the same thing she did. "He doesn't know about me." She said as soon as they were sure Sterling was off the com.

"I noticed that as well." Sophie said. "That's good. Ava, stay low, and don't let anyone see you with me, Nate, or Eliot." She said. Ava sighed, and kissed Eliot gently.

"I'll meet up with you later. I'll stay close, and keep the com on if you need back up." She said. Eliot nodded, and they split up.

Ava and Eliot listened to how it all went down. With Sterling on the roof, then with Nate in Sophie's hidden storage container. Ava was… hurt. Hurt and disappointed. She knew Eliot was the same, only he came off as just plain mad. But Ava knew better. Sophie had lied to them. She was the heart of the team, the one who they could trust the most. And she had lied to them. All to get the first and second David. Because she was a thief. And that was just how she thought.

Parker and Sophie had always been thieves, since they were young. Eliot had become a mercenary after the military, because he just couldn't fit in, in the normal world. Ava had done it for love, and because, she supposed, she didn't fit in the normal world either. Hardison was… well, he was Hardison. He was too smart, and too bored with normality to be anything than a hacker. But Nate… He'd been on the opposite side. Ava had been normal, and then been an independent thief before she went to the team. So she was like them, only an accelerated version. But Sophie was right. Nate was different. He'd been chasing them for fifteen years before he became one of them. He was different. But Ava disagreed with her on one thing. He didn't think he was better. And she thought that if Sophie was thinking more clearly, she'd realize that too.

But they couldn't worry about that now. They had to save Parker and Hardison. They had a plan, and it was a good one. Brilliant actually. But Ava didn't like it. "Ava, don't argue with me." Eliot growled.

"But I can help!" she said, exasperated.

"I know, but keeping you out of this is the best way, tactically." He said. Ava's eyes narrowed.

"Just tactically?" she asked. Eliot sighed.

"No. Sterling and IYS don't know about you, and I'd like to keep it that way. You can pick us all up after its done." He said. Ava grit her teeth, but nodded. He was right. They didn't know about her, and they could use that later.

It went down without a hitch. Sophie did a daredevil impersonation with Parker on the room to escape Sterling, Eliot used the smart phone to make the bad guys' headsets malfunction and distract them, and then when they were all safely away… they blew up the offices. That was something they were all sad about. They all liked the offices. But it had to be done. After that, they were supposed to scatter for six months. Eliot and Ava of course would go together, but other than that, they were supposed to separate.

But of course they didn't. Everyone was apparently operating on the same wavelength, because they all ended up at Blackpool's gallery three months after they split up. And believe me, it was a hell of a shock when they were all there at the same time, for the same reason. It was difficult at first. Everyone was still mad at Sophie, and couldn't completely trust her. But, after an (almost) apology, she was quickly forgiven, and there was bonding over hanging up old Nate's painting in their new multimillion dollar, ex-celebrity's safe house. Not to mention the fact that Maggie was involved. And it was hard convincing her to come in, especially after Nate told her that he'd kept the reason for their son's death from her for all those years. At first, there were also concerns that she couldn't handle it, but, amazingly, she took to lying like a fish to water. And their plan was executed perfectly.

Ava didn't think there'd ever been a job with so many twists and turns. A mummy curse, an inside woman, avoiding Sterling, getting past an unbelievable security system, Sterling and his men, and then… not even stealing the two Davids. It was ingenious. Ava of course had to work on the sidelines, out of the spotlight so that Sterling was still in the dark about her existence, but she still helped, so she could live with that. And no one got hurt. Not even when Blackpool had a gun on Nate. And it was so god damned satisfying to see the look on the old bastard's face when he realized that he'd lost everything.

Ava was a little sad that they had to put all the paintings back. After all, they really were masterpieces, and some of them were absolutely stunning. But, sometimes a girl's got to do, what a girl's got to do. Nate and Maggie even parted on good terms. The team didn't know if they'd ever felt so good, and so bad after a job. It was one of the best feelings, because now so many innocent people would get the insurance that they deserved. Nate's son finally had his justice, and no parent would have to go through what Nate and Maggie did.

When it came time to part ways… it was hard. Nate made a beautiful, and simple speech. How they'd all helped people, had saved lives, had made a difference. Eliot and Ava had talked about it earlier, and decided that now was as good a time as any to come clean with their news. "Ava and I are engaged." Eliot said, when there was a silent moment. The team all turned to them, and blinked in surprise. There was a moment of silence, and then Sophie was the first to react.

"That's wonderful!" Sophie said. Her eyes welled up, and she hugged Ava tightly. "You're so good together." She whispered. Ava smiled.

"I'll stay in touch." Sophie smiled too.

"If you don't, I'll have to hunt you down."

When Sophie hugged Eliot, he looked a little uncomfortable, but then returned it after a moment. Hardison gave Ava a quick hug, and Eliot a fist bump. Parker smiled shakily, and hugged them quickly. Ava could tell she was trying not to fall apart. They'd become so close, so quickly. They were like family. And now it was splitting up. Nate nodded at the couple, and murmured a congratulations.

"We'll send you all an invitation… when we've got things figured out. You might be the only guests." Ava joked half heartedly. She was heartbroken. Eliot saw her start to tremble, and pulled her close, and kissed her temple.

"We had a good run." Eliot murmured.

"It's a good time to move on." Hardison agreed.

"I'm going somewhere… else." Parker said.

"A fresh start." Sophie said.

"Where are you going?" Hardison asked Parker. She smiled.

"Let's see how hard you look." She said.

Everyone turned, and went to their separate planes. On their jet, Eliot held Ava close as she cried silently. "Shhh… it's going to be okay." He murmured.

"What are we going to do?" she asked. "We both know that neither of us can handle living in the real world." She said.

"So we'll live in our own world." He said. "We'll think of something. It'll be okay, Ava. We'll figure it out. Together." He added. Ava sighed, and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess." She said.

Their pilot came on over the intercom. "Where am I taking you?" he asked. Eliot looked down at Ava.

"Well? Where'd you like to go?" he asked. Ava considered, then smiled.

"Home. I think it's time I took you to Ireland, Eliot." She said. He grinned.

"Ireland it is." He told the pilot, and then the plane began to taxi.

"I'll buy you a Guinness, and a shot of Jameson's. You haven't had beer or whiskey until you've had Irish whiskey and beer." She said. He just smiled.

"We'll see about that."

**Ending Note:** Hey! I hope you liked this chapter! Sorry if it's kind of boring, but I needed some way to move from season one stuff to season two stuff, and move into the bar. Plus, it was a good time for Eliot and Ava to go to Ireland, and set up for the wedding. :) More exciting things to come! I hope you'll like it. :D Thanks again so much for everyone who's faved, reviewed, and added me to watch lists! You guys are amazing. And a huge thank you to my beta, **Trapper Creek Kaniac**, who has been very patient with my random writing schedule. She rocks my socks! XD I love all your guys' reviews, so keep 'em coming! I hope to have the next chapter up soon!


	17. The Wedding Job Ch 17

The One Job Left Unfinished

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Leverage, it all belongs to… whoever the hell it belongs to. Not making any money off this, blah, blah, blah, yackity shmackity.**

**Author's Note: **Heeeyy! I'm so happy I've finally got this chapter up! =D I'm really sorry I haven't written in a long time. Since school started again, I've had to put a lot of things on hold, especially considering all the classes I'm taking. So, I'm sorry if the chapters are kind of spaced far apart. But, considering holiday breaks coming up, hopefully I'll be able to write some more. =) Thanks again to my amazingly awesome beta, Trapper Creek Kaniac, for correcting the bejeezus out of this chapter! I think my writing may have gotten a little sloppy through lack of use. 0.o But thankfully she fixed it! =D And thank you to everyone who has been faithfully reading and reviewing! You have no idea how much I appreciate it! Love you guys!

**The Wedding Job 2.0**

_You Are Cordially Invited…_

That was all the simple, but very elegant white invitation said, besides a date, and an location in Ireland. Sophie, Nate, Hardison, and Parker all received one in the mail six months after the team had split up. The invitation didn't need names or a description for them to know exactly what it was. Sophie got misty eyed when she saw it. She was beyond happy that the two of them had finally found their happiness. The rest of the team had just smiled, and began making flight arrangements.

Sophie was the first to arrive, as she had wanted to get there early, and see the bride. The groom too, but she wanted to talk to Ava in particular, and help her get ready. Sophie adored weddings. When her plane had touched down in Ireland, she's(d) looked out the window, and gasped. It was absolutely stunning. She'd been to Ireland before, of course, but it had been years, and she'd all but forgotten the beauty of it. The dewy silver light, the endless romantic roll of the green hills, the ancient ruins tucked away here and there, the drama of the cliffs. Sophie sighed. No wonder Ava had wanted to come back here for the wedding.

She took a taxi to the address Ava had put on the invitation, and enjoyed the scenic drive there. They went down a twisted, winding road, the car weaved in between the lush hillside, and she caught glimpses of the vivid, thrashing sea, and the flashing blue rivers. She looked forward, to ask how much further it was, and caught a glimpse of turrets. She blinked. They came over a rise, and she gasped at the sight of an honest to god, ses-side castle. A castle for Christ's sake! "Excuse me, is that where we're headed?" Sophie asked the driver.

"Sure and it is, ma'am." He said, but 'ma'am' came out sounding like 'mum' with his accent. Sophie leaned back, and then laughed. Leave it to Ava to have a real life castle tucked away in Ireland.

When Sophie saw there was no drawbridge, she was almost disappointed. She paid the taxi driver, and then grabbed her things, and walked up to the door, and rang the bell. There was a lovely, deep sounding chime that reverberated through the walls. Sophie only had to wait a few moments, which was surprising considering the sheer size of the place, before Ava opened the door. She looked flushed, happy, and practically glowing with excitement. "Sophie!" she cried, and hugged her tightly. "I was hoping you'd come early. Come in, come in!" she said.

Ava was immensely pleased Sophie had come early. She was about to burst with excitement, and she now there was one more person to share it with. Sophie smiled warmly, and then walked inside. "Ava, I must say, this place is magnificent." Ava beamed.

"Thanks. It's been in my family for generations. There's been loads of remodeling of course, to make it all modern as far as appliances and such go, but the heart of it still feels old, and homey, you know?" Sophie nodded.

"Yes. Where should I put my things?" she asked.

"Oh! I have a guest room set up for everyone when they get here. Since you're first, you get first pick." Ava led her through the halls, and Sophie admired the wonderful antiques that were obviously lovingly taken care of. She led her up some stairs, and to a long hall. "There's four bedrooms in this hall, two on this side, one at the end, and one on that side. There's more throughout the castle of course, but these are the biggest, and of course made up for guests." Ava said.

Ava pulled open the first door on the left, and led Sophie inside. And Sophie immediately fell in love. The room was stunning; all of the furnishings were dark wood, including the antique four poster bed that was covered with a deep purple duvet. The thick, matching drapes had been pulled back from an enormous window that faced the sea. Sophie was ecstatic the thought of sitting in the plush window seat, and staring out at the waves.

"This one." Sophie said, smiling. Ava grinned.

"Are you sure? You haven't even seen the others."

"I'm sure." Ava laughed.

"I thought this one might be your favorite. Go ahead and get settled in. Your private bathroom is right through that door. I'm just going to go find Eliot, let him know you're here. Feel free to explore. We'll have dinner in a little while, so you can just meet me in the kitchen. We'll save the formal dining room for later." She explained. "And after that, I'll show you what I have planned for the wedding." She said, her eyes lighting up. Sophie smiled.

"Alright. I can't wait."

Sophie made herself at home, putting away her things, and exploring the castle. It was Ava, through and through. Though she could see that Eliot was already leaving his mark here and there. As Sophie wandered, she wondered what would come next. She knew what she hoped for, what the wedding, and the team reuniting would mean. She'd been horrifically lonely for the past six months. She'd forgotten what it was like to be alone since she found the team. She had discovered that it no longer held the same appeal that it once had.

At six, Sophie made her way to the kitchen, and found Eliot cooking alongside an elderly Irish woman, while Ava sat at the little table, smiling as the two fought over the better way to make Irish stew.

"I'm the Irish one here, boy'o. Don't you think I'm the one who ought to know?" the portly woman demanded. Eliot struggled not to roll his eyes.

"Yes, but you put much more salt in that and you'll make all our cholesterol jump fifty points." He said. The woman harrumphed, but said nothing else, and didn't add any more salt. Sophie snuck in, and sat down next to Ava.,

"Looks like he won that one." She said. Ava grinned.

"Barely. That's my house keeper, Margret. She runs a tight ship, but she's sort of like a turtle; hard on the outside, soft on the inside." She said.

"I heard that, and I'll not have you spreading such vicious lies about me." Margret quipped from the stove. Ava and Sophie snickered.

The stew was ready before long, and absolutely delicious. Ava, Eliot, and Sophie all talked throughout the meal, about the wedding, and what they'd been doing in the past few months. Sophie could see the happy glow between them, and couldn't have been more pleased. Just as Sophie saw their happiness, they saw her loneliness. After dinner and dessert, and then tea and talking into the late evening, Ava spoke to Eliot of it when they'd gone to their room. "I'm worried about her." She said. Eliot glanced at her as she brushed her hair at the vanity in their room.

"I know. So am I. Have you been thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked.

"If you've been thinking that the wedding is the perfect opportunity to get the team back together, than yes." Ava said. Eliot grinned.

"Exactly. After the wedding, we'll make it happen." He said. Ava smiled, rose and crossed to him, straddling his lap on their bed.

"Of course. But until then…" she said, leaning in to nip at his lips. He groaned, and wrapped his arms around her, tugging her down onto the mattress with him.

The next couple of days were great. Sophie was a big help getting the final touches for the wedding ready, and of course just keeping Ava company. They went to little shops nearby, talked about silly female things, and got sentimental over Ava's wedding gown. It was fabulous to have her around again. Eliot was her soul mate, and Margret was great, but it was amazing to have another female in the house, closer to her age.

Sophie approved of everything Ava had done so far, and liked her ideas for what was left. By the time the rest of the team got there, everything was settled. Parker was the first to arrive. "Hey guys!" she shouted, and bounced inside. "I'm totally excited for this! Hopefully it won't go like that other wedding all of us were at." Parker said. Ava looked at Sophie in confusion, who looked pained.

"Parker, how about we don't bring that up?" Sophie asked, exasperated.

"Okay. So, where's Eliot?" she asked.

"He's in the stable, with Zeus. He'll be back soon." Ava said, referring to the horse that Eliot had fallen in love with when he'd been working for her father. She'd kept him and Phixius, leaving them in Ireland for safe keeping. Eliot had been ecstatic when he'd found out, and they'd spent a lot of time riding together along the shoreline and rolling hills of her home.

"Okay." Parker wandered off to explore. Ava waited a beat, then turned to Sophie.

"She wouldn't steal anything, would she?" she asked. She loved Parker to death, but she wasn't sure Parker would be able to resist the temptation of some of the very old, very valuable things she had in her family home.

"I don't think so. At worst she'll bring something to you and ask if she can have it." Sophie said, shrugging. Ava shook her head.

"Sometimes I wonder about that girl." She said.

"We all do."

When Hardison and Nate arrived shortly after Parker and about an hour apart, Ava's happiness was complete. She gave Hardison a big hug, ignoring Eliot's unhappy noises. He was the jealous type, but they were both learning to deal with it. Nate tried to just shake her hand, but she brushed that off and hugged him as well. He gave in after a moment, and smiled. "I'm glad the two of you are so happy." He said. Ava beamed.

"Thanks, Nate. Oh, can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked. Nate nodded, and followed her into the other room.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I was wondering if I could ask a favor." Ava said. Nate frowned in confusion.

"Sure."

"I want you to preside over the wedding." Nate blinked.

"Ah, Ava…"

"Look, I know you went to seminary school, so I know it will be legal if that's the excuse that's about to come out of your mouth." Ava said sternly. Nate's expression turned uncomfortable.

"Well, yes, it'd be legal, but I'm not sure it'd be… appropriate. I'm sure you have a family priest, who'd-" Ava cut him off.

"Nate, please." She asked quietly. "I want you to do this. For me. It would mean a lot to me. Besides, we're thieves, remember? I'm not sure my family's seventy year old priest would be comfortable presiding over this particular ceremony." She said, smiling gently. Nate sighed.

"I suppose you're right." He said, rubbing his hands over his face. "Alright. If it means that much to you, I'll do it." He said. Ava smiled, her eyes tearing a little, and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, Nate. It really does mean a lot to me." She said. They then headed back to the rest of the team.

They would be having the ceremony later that day, so for the time being the team sat in one of the many parlors that the castle had to offer, and warmed in front of a glowing fire. "So, can I ask something?" Sophie started. Ava turned to face her.

"Sure."

"Isn't your family going to be here? Friends, extended relatives, that sort of thing?" Sophie asked, sounding confused. Ava smiled, a little sad.

"No. Most of the people I'd consider family or friends are either dead, in prison, or not familiar enough with me for me to invite them. We had a very small rehearsal dinner for the people from Eliot's and my life that we wanted to have a small part in the wedding, but other than that, you all are the most important to us." She said. She was sitting snuggled up to Eliot's side on the love seat, him stroking her hair comfortingly.

The team was touched and honored by what she told them, and Hardison began planning a way to make their wedding special. He had a pretty good idea of what he could do, and was already pretty pleased with himself for thinking of it. Parker felt warm and gooey inside, which was an entirely new and slightly frightening experience for her. She brushed off the fear though, knowing that these people cared for her, and that meant everything would be okay.

That night when everyone was heading to their individual rooms, Ava and Eliot split up to make the final preparation for the wedding. Eliot knocked on Hardison's door, and let himself in at the greeting. "Hardison, I need to talk to you." Eliot started, feeling more than a little uncomfortable. Hardison frowned in confusion.

"Alright, what's on your mind?" Eliot cleared his throat, looking for the right words, but then gave up.

"I want you to be my best man." He said, bluntly. Hardison blinked, then grinned.

"Sweet, man! Of course! I mean, I know it's probably winner by default, and all, but hell yes!" he said. Eliot rolled his eyes.

"It's not just that." His expression went solemn, and Hardison listened carefully. "No matter how many times I crack jokes about you, or how often you annoy the hell out of me… You're a good friend, Hardison. And no matter what, you've always got my back."

Hardison's face cleared, his expression serious. "Thanks, Eliot. I'm honored then, to be your best man." The two men shook hands, and something unspoken passed between then, something that didn't need to be explained, it just was.

Meanwhile, Ava went to Parker's room that was adjoined to Sophie's, and brought Sophie with her. "Hey guys, ah, I wanted to ask you something. Something important." Ava said, looking between the two of them. The two women waited, curious. "I want you guys to be my bride's maids." Ava said, smiling. Sophie immediately smiled, and hugged Ava.

"Of course, darling. I'd be honored." Parker however seemed a little distraught.

"What? But, I don't know how to be a bride's maid! I don't even have a dress!" she said, sounding panicked. Ava laughed, and touched her shoulder reassuringly.

"Parker, calm down, I have dresses for both you and Sophie. Trust me, it'll be fine."

"What if it doesn't fit?" Parker demanded. Ava rolled her eyes.

"Parker, I'm a thief, remember? I very subtly checked both yours and Sophie's dress sizes back in the States when I first said yes to Eliot's proposal."

Parker blinked. "How?" she asked.

Ava grinned, and flashed back to sneaking a peek at the tags on Parker and Sophie's shirts without them noticing. "I have my ways. Now, what do you say?" she asked. Parker smiled sheepishly.

"Okay, I guess I can do it." She said. "The dress isn't ugly is it?" she asked nervously. Ava laughed.

"You be the judge." She said.

Ava ushered both girls into a spare room she'd turned into a temporary dressing room for the wedding. She crossed to the closet, and pulled out to emerald green dresses. They were one shouldered, knee length, and silk. They were stunning, simple, and elegant. "Oh, they're beautiful!" Sophie gasped, fingering the fabric reverently. She peeked at the tag, and nearly choked on her tongue. "Ava! That's one of the finest designers in Europe! How on earth did you get her to make you dresses so short notice?" she asked. Ava smiled.

"Remember that six months in between you guys leaving New York, and me coming to Boston?" Ava asked.

"Vividly." Parker said.

"Well, let's just say I did something for her in Italy, and she owed me one. She made my wedding gown, too." Ava said, pulling another dress bag from the closet, and unzipping it.

Sophie and Parker gasped in unison, and stared at the dress. It looked like it had been made from a cloud. It was pure white, made of feather light silk and yards of airy chiffon. It had a sweetheart neckline in the fitted top, and tank sleeves from which trails of chiffon seemed to make elegant wings that fluttered to the end of the dress. Swirls of silver embroidery winked in the material, so subtle that it seemed to make the dress glow. The hem was full and swirling, and absolutely stunning. "Oh Ava, it suits you." Sophie murmured.

"You'll look like a faerie…" Parker breathed. Ava smiled mistily.

"Thanks. I adore it. I've always thought it was silly for women to spend so much time and money on one day, so I did minimalistic stuff as far as the food, cake, and flowers went, but this… this was my one indulgence." She said.

"As it should be." Sophie said, beaming. After admiring the dresses for a few moments longer, the three of them went to their rooms to sleep.

That night, Ava got into bed, and faced Eliot. Those killer blue eyes seemed to stare into her soul, as he propped himself up on his elbow and watched her. Ava reached up and cupped his face in her hand. "Tomorrow, I'll finally belong to you forever." She whispered, and saw his eyes flare with heat and love. He leaned down and kissed her gently.

"Tomorrow, you'll be mine, and I'll be yours. Forever." He murmured. Ava's heart fluttered.

"I always told myself if I ever did marry, it'd only be the one time. So I guess you'll be stuck with me." She teased gently. He grinned, and tangled his fingers in her hair.

"I think I can live with that." He said, kissing her again. Ava laughed softly, then let him pull her into the warmth and safety of his embrace, and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning you could practically taste the excitement in the air. Everyone was on the move, making preparations, finishing last minute details. Everyone wanted the day to be absolutely perfect. Parker, Sophie, and Ava had fun in their little makeshift dressing room putting on makeup, doing hair, and selecting shoes. Parker was new to the experience, but she was laughing and bubbly along with Sophie and Ava who were old pros. Parker looked fabulous in silvery eye liner, black mascara, and pink lipstick, and her hair pulled back in a half up, half down look. Sophie was sultry in smoky tones, and bronzer, and an elegant chignon. And Ava was absolutely stunning. Her creamy skin was accentuated by light blush, shamelessly red lipstick, emerald eyeliner, and emerald eye shadow, her hair left to cascade in a riot of curls to her waist.

When everyone was dressed and ready, Sophie and Parker gave her a kiss for luck, and headed out to the back lawn where the ceremony would take place. The spot was beautiful, out on the green sloping hills, with the drama of the cliffs and beauty of the sand and sea nearby. Nate, Eliot, and Hardison were waiting there for them under an altar made of twisting white wood. There was a small white runner lined with little bouquets of flowers. Sophie and Parker took their places opposite Eliot, Nate, and Hardison, and both were pleased to see each of their objects of (secret) affections all pressed and dressed for the occasion.

After a few moments, they saw Ava leave the house. Eliot's breath caught in his chest when he spotted her. Her white gown seemed to float around her, her veil setting off the fiery red of her hair, and the deep emerald of her eyes. She all but glowed with her happiness, and Eliot's heart tightened. This would undoubtedly be the best thing he'd ever do in his life. She walked down the aisle to meet him at the altar, and Eliot grinned at her. She grinned back, and then they faced Nate together.

Nate nodded at them both, and began the ceremony. When he asked for their vows, they each had something short and stunning to say. Ava went first. "We've been through so much together. Good, bad, life… death. And through it all, there's always been one constant; my love for you. It's bigger, and brighter than anything I've ever seen, more powerful and potent than anything I've ever felt. You're the one, Eliot. We belong together. I'll always be faithful, always be your rock, your light, your wife. I will love you, forevermore." Eliot held her hand tightly, and then began.

"Ava, I never thought I would find the person I'd want to spend the rest of my life with. But I did. You're the only home I've ever known, or wanted. I can't promise to be perfect for you, but I can swear to try every day for the rest of my life. I love you more than anything; I'd do anything, including lay down my life for you. You make me the man I want to be; everything I like about me, is you. I will love you forevermore."

Sophie, Parker, and… _Hardison_? were all weepy, and Nate just rolled his eyes, but was touched. Eliot gave Ava her simple silver wedding band that would accompany her engagement ring, and Ava gave Eliot his. They each had the inscription "Love forevermore" inside the band. Nate nodded in satisfaction, then said, "I know pronounce you husband, and wife. You may kiss the bride." Eliot tugged Ava to him, and gave her a kiss hot enough to have everyone present feeling feverish. When they parted, everyone cheered, and grinned. Everyone was thinking the same thing… Time for cake!

They all headed back inside into the (get this) _ballroom_, and found the small, elegant, and simple, three tier cake. They cut into it, and dug in. There was soft music playing, and Ava and Eliot had their dance, and then Sophie and Nate, and Parker and Hardison paired off. After a while, they settled contently at a table, and talked. "Are you guys going to take a honeymoon?" Sophie asked. Ava shook her head.

"No. We've pretty much been on honeymoon for the past six months." She said, smiling.

"So what are you going to do?" Parker asked. Ava and Sophie exchanged knowing looks.

"Well, we don't really have anything planned… What about you?" she asked.

"Nope." Parker chirped. "Hardison?"

"I've got nothing planned. I've been bored for months." He said. "Sophie?"

"Well, I do have a plan." She started, smiling at Nate. He looked up at her, and shook his head.

"Oh, no. I know that look, don't even think about it. We all agreed that we would take time off, that it was too risky." He said.

"We did take time off. Half a year. The heat is bound to have died out." Eliot said. Nate glared at him.

"Nate, come on! This is what we do! We're thieves, we can't just quit. We need something to do, or we go mad!" Sophie said. "Hardison, what have you been doing?"

"I hacked the white house in three days. No buzz." He said sadly. "Although, I did find out about some hinky stuff we're doing in Pakistan."

"I stole the Hope diamond. I put it back. Because I was bored." Parker said, disgusted with herself. Everyone stared in blatant disbelief. Something had to be seriously wrong for Parker to give up a prize like the Hope. Especially since she had a soft spot for diamonds.

"And you two?" Nate asked, looking at the newlyweds. They looked sheepishly at each other.

"Um… we made a brief stop in Pakistan." Ava said. Hardison stared at them openmouthed.

"What about your pre-wedding honeymoon?" he asked.

"Well, we did that too, but…"

"We got bored." Eliot finished for her. "This is the problem with being the good guy, it gets under your skin!" Eliot said. Ava smiled at him, and patted his hand in sympathy.

Sophie turned to face Nate again. "You see! We need the team back, Nate. We can't take vacations like normal people. We're not normal." She said.

"What about those two? They just got married for Christ's sake! What about their rings?" he demanded. Ava held up two simple silver chains.

"Way ahead of you, Nate." She said. They had already planned to wear the rings around their necks, tucked safely into their shirts, when they were on the job. Nate sighed.

"Can you handle working together as a…"

"A married couple?" Eliot asked. He looked at Ava, and held her hand. "No doubt about it. We'll probably be even better now." He said.

"See Nate, we've got it all worked out." Parker said, cheerfully. Nate sighed, and scrubbed his hands over his face.

"Um, just one thing, guys." Hardison interjected. Everyone looked at him. "What are we going to do about the office?" Nate sighed.

"Don't worry, I've got that covered… I guess. Damn… Alright! Alright, you win. The team is back." Nate conceded. Everyone cheered.

"Sweet! What's our first job?" Parker asked. Nate looked at each member of the team.

"You'll see, when we're back in Boston." He said. The team seemed to sigh in relief.

"Great, time to head home." Parker said. Nate smiled a little.

"Yeah. Home."

**Ending Note: **I really hope you guys liked this chapter! =D I like it a lot, even though it's kinda short. :/ Anyways, the next job I'll be remixing is the Tap Out Job, which is one of my absolute FAVORITES, so I'm super excited! I hope you guys will like it! XD Please feed my addiction and review! I love hearing from you guys. =)


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